Alternative Financing Sources for Business and Real Estate Owners

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Wednesday, June 12, 2013

As business and real estate owners and officers navigate financing avenues to help support growth or expansion of their business, traditional lending isn’t the only option.  On Thursday May 9th, 2013 I attended the Alternative Financing Forum sponsored by PNC and Buckley King.  The forum was driven by three separate stake-holders in the greater Cleveland marketplace, Kristi Eberhardt, a Director with PNC, Christine Nelson, VP with Team NEO and Deb Janik, Sr. VP with the Greater Cleveland...

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Skoda Minotti Completes Merger With Tampa-based Dowell & Perez

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Tuesday, June 11, 2013

CLEVELAND--()--With its second Tampa-area merger in less than a year, Skoda Minotti has merged with Dowell & Perez, P.A., positioning Tampa as its second-largest business market in the country. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed. In July 2012, Ohio-headquartered Skoda Minotti merged with Tampa CPA firm Baumann, Raymondo & Co.

“Good things are happening in Tampa, and we are excited to join Skoda Minotti,” says Dan Dowell, CPA, former Dowell & Perez president and now...

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Free Offer Friday: Accounting, Tax & Valuation Considerations When Issuing Stock Options E-Book

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Friday, June 7, 2013

Interested in learning more about the accounting, tax and valuation considerations you should take into account when issuing stock options

After reading this e-book, you'll have a better understanding of these basic valuation concepts:

  • Stock option landscape
  • Accounting & tax ramifications of issuing stock options
  • Practical considerations when issuing stock options
  • The Backsolve Method

Click here to download our free e-book.

For more information on our Valuation & Litigation Advisory Services,...

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FASB Issues Revised Exposure Draft on Leases

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Thursday, June 6, 2013

On May 16, 2013, the FASB (Financial Accounting Standards Board) and IASB (International Accounting Standards Board) issued a revised joint exposure draft (ED) on leases that, if adopted, would pose significant changes for both lessees and lessors.  As we informed our readers in December in our Accounting Insights Newsletter, the FASB was working on a revised ED on accounting for leases that was originally published in August 2010.
 
The primary difference between the original release in 2010 and...

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Buyers and Sellers Can Bridge Gap With Earnouts, But Must Know Accounting Rules

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Wednesday, June 5, 2013

I’m pretty sure my first experience with earnouts came at the lunch table with my buddies in grade school.

“I bet you I can throw my sandwich wrapper into the trash can from here.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ll bet you a dollar.”

“You’re on.”

While transaction earnouts involve many more dollars than my story, as well as much more complex terms, the concept is generally the same — an earnout is a payment based on performance. For example, a deal may include a $20 million cash payment and an earnout...

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Your Summer Disney "Business" Trip: What Can You Deduct?

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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

The category of travel expenses is one of the most common type of business deduction and also one of the most confusing.  Travel expenses are the ordinary and necessary expenses of traveling away from home for your business, profession, or job. You cannot deduct expenses that are lavish or extravagant or that are for personal purposes.

There are generally two reasons an employee/business owner may incur travel expenses.  Traveling away from home because your duties require you to be away from...

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The Buzz in Downtown Cleveland

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Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Wondering what the real estate and construction buzz in downtown Cleveland is all about? Below you’ll find a guest blog from Henry Schneps of Better Business Brokers, LLC with his take on the latest happenings in downtown Cleveland. Feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts in the comments section below.

There is a buzz in downtown Cleveland coming from construction in the central business district and from the east bank of the flats.  This construction is generating a lot of excitement as...

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How to manage your 401(k) options when changing jobs

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Monday, June 3, 2013

A job change can be a stressful, busy time, which is why many people forget about 401(k) funds and simply leave them in a former employer’s plan.

I can’t emphasize enough that people need to properly educate themselves about their options. Most people we encounter are hesitant to rollover old 401(k) funds because they aren’t aware of their options.

There also is a tendency to think amounts aren’t significant enough to warrant attention. The average person holds 11 jobs between the ages of 18 and...

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Special Delivery: May 2013

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Friday, May 31, 2013

This month's Special Delivery includes:

 

Free E-Book...

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Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights: May 2013

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Thursday, May 30, 2013

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:

If you have any questions about any of these articles, please contact our Valuation & Litigation Advisory Services Group at 440-449-6800.

If you would like to...

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“My boss is crazy when he’s drunk!” #dancingonthebar

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Thursday, May 23, 2013

You lead and manage an upstanding, recognizable company. You attract and retain the area’s upper third in the candidate pool. Your long-standing reputation is admirable. Your employees reflect the culture of your company; they are skilled in their field, versed in the industry and savvy in their corporate representation. Your marketing department has worked diligently over the years to build your brand, position the company and engage the community as a sought-after entity as one of the best...

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Tax consequence of converting your primary residence to rental property

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Monday, May 20, 2013

While the real estate market has been improving, many homeowners may still find their home value is less than their original purchase price.  There are many important tax consequences as a result of the conversion. 

Once you decide to convert to rental, you will be allowed to depreciate the property over 27.5 years.  Depreciation can shelter some or all of your rental income by providing you noncash deductions.  Depending on your specific facts, you may be able to use losses from your rental...

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Ten Mid-year Tax Strategies for 2013 - Ideas for small-business owners

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Monday, May 20, 2013

The summer is typically a time for individual taxpayers and small-business owners to take a deep breath while catching up on some recreational pursuits or other pleasurable activities. But there is precious little time to relax in the tax world. With that in mind, here are 10 mid-year tax strategies that may prove to be beneficial.

Business trips: When you travel away from home on business, you may deduct your travel expenses—including airfare, lodging and 50% of the cost of meals—if the primary...

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City of Akron’s Internal IT System Hacked by Turkish Radicals: Taxpayers’ Social Security Numbers Compromised

Posted by:
Friday, May 17, 2013

Steps to Take Now That Your Personal Information Has Been Distributed

Today, many were awakening to learn that the City of Akron’s internal computer system was hacked by a group of Turkish radicals.  According to Ohio.com, 47,452 entries of personal information associated with income tax filings including names, addresses, social security numbers and even credit card information has been compromised.  The hackers have even gone so far as to post some of this “stolen” personal and private...

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Merger of Equals

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Friday, May 17, 2013

Merging entities together is nothing new.  Companies merge all of the time.  Government offices even merge every so often, with local governments having been known to share services or annex one another.  What about merging credentialed professionals into one?  That’s a little more unusual. 

It’s not very often that you see credentialing bodies consolidate or merge certifications, but this is just what the National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (“NACVA”) is doing with two of...

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Being a Valuation Analyst is Like Playing Quarterback

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

The quarterback of a football team must know the responsibility of every player on the field.  Although the quarterback may not have the required skills to block a blitzing linebacker or run a pass route, he needs to have a deep understanding of the roles of each of his teammates to ensure everyone is working together to execute the play effectively.  This can be quite a challenge with the increasing complexity of football schemes today.  Similarly, a valuation analyst, whose primary role is to...

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Special Delivery: April 2013

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Wednesday, May 1, 2013

This month's Special Delivery includes the following:

Golden Opportunity for Small-Business Owners

Are you contemplating purchasing new equipment or assets for your small business? It’s a good time for many...

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Improving Accounts Receivable Collections (Part 6 of 6): You Probably Have an A/R Collections Problem and You Don’t Even Know ItBest Practices for Accounts Receivable Collections

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Monday, April 8, 2013

Thanks for reading this six-part series of blogs aimed toward improving your ability to collect accounts receivable, authored by e2b teknologies . You can still sign up for the April 10th webinar entitled, “6 Steps to Developing a World Class Business Credit Policy & Collections Action Plan. You can sign up here.

Cash flow is the lifeblood of every business and slow paying customers can seriously affect it. There are four fundamental best practices that every business should implement to...

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HIPAA/HITECH Compliance: What You Need to Know About Patient Health Information (PHI)

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Thursday, April 4, 2013

What is Protected Health Information (PHI)?

According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, PHI is "any individually identifiable information, whether oral or recorded, in any form or medium" that:

  • is created, or received by a health care provider, health plan or health care clearing house (aka Covered Entity); and
  • relates to past, present, or future physical or mental health conditions of an individual; the provision of health care to the individual; or past, present, or future...
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HIPAA/HITECH Compliance: What You Need to Know

Posted by:
Monday, April 1, 2013

When and why did HIPAA/HITECH Compliance start?

In 2006, President Clinton enacted the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA), after a growing public concern about how private health care information was being used.  In 2009, I'm sure you recall that President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (otherwise known as the STIMULUS). Included in that legislation was the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (“HITECH Act”), as a...

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