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Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is pleased to announce a number of staff promotions in both the Maumee and Findlay offices, effective July 1, 2021.

Caitlin Bainter, CPA and Amanda Lewis, CPA have been promoted to Senior Manager. Ryan Avery, CPA, Ryan Emerson, CPA and Mackenzie Gross, CPA have been promoted to Manager. Adam Larkins, CPA, Alyssa Lecurgo, Dana Lumbrezer, CPA and Chris Scherley are promoted to Supervisor and Cassi Cronin, CPA, Emily Eckroth, CPA, Thomas Keyser, Hayden Neese and Grace Reddick, CPA are promoted to Senior Associate. 

“These promotions reflect hard work, dedication and commitment. The past year has been anything but normal. Our staff, including all those promoted this month, have done a remarkable job of staying focused, getting the work done and staying connected as a team,” says Managing Partner Kevin Gilmore. “It is gratifying to see our staff advance in their careers and professional development.”  

There are currently several opportunities at GJM for those just beginning their careers, and for more experienced professionals in tax, assurance, and risk advisory. Learn more at GJMLTD.com/careers.

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting services and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory, healthcare management and outsourced accounting. The Firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.

Question: Do I need to include my Payroll Protection Program (“PPP”) loan or HHS Provider Relief funds when calculating Ohio Commercial Activity Tax (CAT)?

Answer from Jennifer Bryant, Healthcare and Accounting Services Team:

Many Ohio businesses received funding from both the Payroll Protection Program and the HHS Provider Relief Funds that were part of the CARES Act, the sweeping legislation designed to infuse the American economy with much needed liquidity. As these businesses file their Commercial Activity Tax (CAT) returns, it is important to understand how the State of Ohio is treating the receipt of these funds.

Ohio specifically addresses the HHS Provider Relief funds, stating that these funds are not excluded from a taxpayer’s gross receipts for purposes of the CAT. But, there is an exception. If the healthcare provider is a nonprofit organization (as that term is defined in Ohio Administrative Code 5703-29-10), that nonprofit organization is excluded, and therefore not subject to CAT.

In regard to the PPP funds, the Ohio General Assembly modified the definition of “gross receipts” to specifically exclude all forgiven PPP loans from Ohio CAT. Those forgiven PPP loans have been excluded from federal gross income under §1106(i) of the CARES Act. In other words, forgiven PPP loan principal will be excluded from the tax base for federal income tax purposes and Ohio Commercial Activity Tax. 

Should your organization have any questions regarding this issue, please reach out to your GJM advisory team for help.

(Jennifer picture)

Jennifer Bryant is a supervisor in the firm’s healthcare department. She came on board with Gilmore Jasion Mahler in January of 2002. A member of the firm’s Healthcare and Accounting Services Team, she works closely with clients to ensure that their healthcare practices run smoothly, handling monthly financials and often fielding questions and offering guidance on a variety of client issues. Jennifer’s areas of expertise include ambulatory surgery centers, physician practices and dental practices.    

A graduate of Davis College, Jennifer is a member of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants (OSCPA).

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory, healthcare management and outsourced accounting. The Firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.  

Early summer is when the Ohio Housing Finance Agency announces its awards of low-income housing tax credits. If your application wasn’t funded, you’re not alone – the awards are very competitive and only about one third of applications get funding. If you find yourself with an unfunded application and you’re wondering what to do with your project, GJM’s Ken Saggese, CPA has some ideas on what to do next.

Some other suggestions from Ken: discuss with your project team various ways you might be able to improve your application’s score or its tie-breaks. Compare your project’s score to the scores of others that were awarded – OHFA’s Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) will give details about how each part of your score is calculated. And maybe the secret ingredient is the simple step of engaging with the community stakeholders where your project is located, to get more positive grassroots support. Talk with GJM’s affordable housing team or your trusted advisor before giving up on a promising project.

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory, healthcare management and outsourced accounting. The firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.

“It’s never been a better time to be an owner of a business.”

That strong statement was made by Rob Quandt, Managing Director at Windjammer Capital during a GJM webinar examining the current increased activity in mergers and acquisitions, and the importance of having a succession plan. The webinar, Succession Planning High-Level View: 2021 on March 23 brought together a panel of experts to dive into the very active M&A market. The panel, moderated by GJM Transaction Advisory Partner Greg Taylor, also shared some thoughts on what it takes to have a successful succession plan for your business.

Strong M&A Market

Quandt’s statement speaks to the current climate coming out of the economic shutdown during the pandemic. The panelists agree that many businesses looking at potential sales, mergers and acquisitions before the pandemic put those plans on hold and now they’re feeling more confident moving forward. As a result, they say, there’s an explosion of M&A activity, particularly in the middle market.

Taylor notes that these aren’t distressed businesses either. In fact, he says, some are healthier than they’ve been in many years.

“The companies are very strong financially,” he says. “They have very strong balance sheets. That’s also the same situation for potential buyers.”

Panelist Tom Zucker, President & Founder of EdgePoint Capital agrees, describing the M&A marketplace as “incredibly hot”. He says not only are many owners interested in selling their businesses, but they’re getting premium valuations.

Why? Here are Zucker’s thoughts:

• There’s an abundance of capital chasing too few of potential deals
• Tax and regulatory has some scared
• The so-called “9/11 effect”

“Similar to the time period post 9/11, today business owners are choosing to reprioritize non-business activities ahead of corporate growth and profits. We have monikered these emotionally based decisions the “9/11 effect”. This re-examination of priorities has prompted many business owners to consider selling their business,” he says.

The “911 effect” reference Zucker makes is to the COVID-19 pandemic that, like the September 11^th attacks, has some people reexamining their priorities and making major life decisions, emotional decisions, like retiring or selling their businesses.

Regarding tax impact, GJM Tax Partner Charlie Heid says there’s no question that concerns about federal tax policy are driving decisions as well. Many are concerned about potential increases in capital gains tax that could hurt them on a sale further down the road.

“Tax rates that we see today are the lowest they’ve ever been, and they’re going to go up. The question is when, how, and by how much,” says Heid.

Are You Ready to Sell?

If someone walked in the door tomorrow and wanted to talk to you about buying your business, would you be ready? And what can you do so you will be ready?

Zucker says ask yourself these questions: What would you want out of a sale: to carry on your legacy? Get the highest price? Or maybe preserve and protect the corporate structure within your family? He says you need to know what you want from a sale, be very clear about that, and communicate it well.

“The hard work is really sitting down with your advisors and your family and being very clear what you want to get accomplished… and finding a good investment banker, a good attorney, a good accountant is absolutely critical in the journey.”

Quandt echoes that, saying you need to assemble the right team of experts, and be very clear about your goals.

“There’s not really a right or wrong answer for any business,” he says. “If you’re looking to stay involved in the business, great. If you want to retire, great. But if you’re upfront about it, you and your advisors can figure out which firm is going to be the right fit for what you’re trying to accomplish.”

Panelist Ian Bund, a Senior Advisor with Plymouth Growth, says their team looks for businesses at are in the growth stage and are looking for future needs and resources.

“We’re really in the business of partnering with entrepreneurs who have a growth thesis for their business and helping execute that growth thesis towards an exit, so if you’re interested in an exit in the next 6 to 12 months, it would be unlikely that we would be of much use to you, but if you had a longer horizon, and wanted to explore the possibility of your business being self-standing for a period of time, there may be a fit with what we do,” says Bund.

Timeframe for a Sale?  

Tom Zucker says the amount of time you think you need to prepare for sale, versus the length of time you actually need may be two different things. During the panel discussion he referenced an EdgePoint white paper surveying 200 privately-held busines owners who had sold. Early on, he says, those business owners thought less than a year would be enough time. Further into the process, Zucker noted, more and more business owners said a 1-3 year timeframe seemed a more reasonable expectation.

Words of Wisdom

Tom Zucker, EdgePoint:

“Never sell a business by yourself because there are very skilled buyers out there who will see the opportunity that might not be present to you as a business owner.”

Rob Quandt, Windjammer:

“It’s hard to underestimate the amount of data and questions you’re going to go through… you’re going to have two jobs for six months. You’re going to have your day job running the company to achieve the premium valuation, and you’re also going to be talking to multiple buyers who are going to have a lot of questions about your business.”

Ian Bund, Plymouth Growth:

“It’s the relationships that we make, where we’re supporting the growth cycle of a business and getting that business prepared so that ultimately it can optimize the exit value.”

Charlie Heid, GJM:

“Make sure you are in regular discussions with your advisors, your trusted inner circle.”

If you do decide now’s the right time to sell or to buy your business, and you’re clear on exactly what you want, turn to your trusted advisors for an open and honest conversation. To learn more about GJM's transaction advisory expertise or to connect with one of our experts, simply contact GJM to begin the conversation.

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory, healthcare management and outsourced accounting. The firm’s professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities. 

As our country faces the COVID-19 crisis we want to take a moment to bring you up to date on some of the steps Gilmore Jasion Mahler is taking as a result. We would also like to share some information on some resources for businesses, should you need them.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has announced a loan program to provide economic assistance to companies due to the slowing down of business in Ohio. It may be available to help your business provide funding for payroll, past due accounts payable and other working capital needs. Typically, such a loan program will have a very low interest rate and up to 30 years repayment schedule. Also, in the unfortunate event that furloughs or layoffs are necessary during these challenging times, impacted employees should qualify for immediate unemployment compensation relief.

Here are some helpful links for businesses seeking information in both Ohio and Michigan.

http://jfs.ohio.gov/ouio/CoronavirusAndUI.stm

https://www.michigan.gov/coronavirus/0,9753,7-406-98178_98179---,00.html

While there has been talk of the IRS possibly moving back the April 15 tax deadline, as of now there is no official word on if that may happen so GJM is currently working under the assumption there is no delay in the tax deadline. We expect to receive further guidance from the US Department of the Treasury this week and will promptly let everyone know.

As we are writing this, our offices remain open, though we have encouraged our staff to work from home if possible for the next three weeks. Should you need to drop off tax documents, GJM offices will be open during our normal business hours for you to do so.

We will continue to monitor COVID-19 developments here in Northwest Ohio and around the nation and share further information with our clients and partners as needed. Please feel free to reach out to your GJM team with any questions or concerns.

Established in 1996, Gilmore Jasion Mahler, LTD (GJM) is the largest public accounting firm in Northwest Ohio, with offices in Maumee and Findlay. Locally owned, GJM offers cloud-based accounting services and provides comprehensive services including assurance, business advisory, tax, risk advisory and healthcare management. The firm's professionals specialize in industries including construction & real estate, healthcare, manufacturing & distribution and utilities.