Cleveland Financial Advisors

November 28, 2011 – CLEVELAND – Skoda Minotti, a CPA, business and financial advisory firm, is proud to announce that Michael Trabert, CPA, CVA, CMAP, CEPA recently earned the Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) designation, after completing the Institute’s intensive CEPA program. With this designation, Trabert joins an exclusive group of business advisors worldwide who have received this credential.

Leading Skoda Minotti’s Exit Planning Services Group, Trabert helps clients by creating...

CLEVELAND – Now in its 19th year, the Lake-Geauga Fast Track 50 Award will once again recognize the 50 fastest growing companies in Lake and Geauga Counties. Winners of the award will be based on average sales and employment growth from 2006 through 2010. This year’s nomination form can be found online at: www.fasttrack50.org.

To be eligible to receive the award, companies must be located in the two-county region, be organized as a for-profit business, and must have a sales profit for 2006 of, at...

Summary of Responsibilities: 

• Will be part of a team that provides strategic input and analytical support regarding a portfolio of direct real estate investments. 

About the company:

• Our client is a dynamic and fast-growing private financial services company based in Cleveland, Ohio

Essential Functions:

• Perform financial analysis of real estate investment assets.
• Build relationships with key stakeholders including partners, advisors, lenders, lawyers and accountants.
• Participate in committee...

 Summary of Responsibilities:

• Will be part of a team that provides strategic input and analytical support regarding a portfolio of direct real estate investments. 

About the company: 

• Our client is a dynamic and fast-growing private financial services company based in Cleveland, Ohio

Essential Functions:

• Perform financial analysis of real estate investment assets.
• Build relationships with key stakeholders including partners, advisors, lenders, lawyers and accountants.
• Participate in committee...

This issue of the Real Estate Monitor includes the following articles:

• Understanding the Energy Efficient Tax Deduction
• New Requirements for Asbestos Surveys from the Ohio Department of Health
• Housing: Affordability of Home Ownership
• Deductions: Passive Losses
• Mortgage Loans: New Rules
• Housing: Residential Ground Leases
• Securities: No Liability Under Securities Exchange Act
• Cleveland Market Overview

Understanding the Energy Efficient Tax Deduction

Skoda Minotti, along with CLS Facility Services, invites...

Advisor Insights

For the past several months, our Real Estate and Construction Group has been authoring a monthly column in Builders Exchange Magazine that offers advice to real estate and construction professionals.

So far this year, the following topics have been covered:

• The Benefits of Subprime Bonding  
• Selecting and Implementing Financial Software  
• The Value of a Niche Marketing Plan 
• Lessons Learned From the Construction Industry  
• Cancellation of Debt Income 
• Preventing Financial Fraud 
   

Click here to view Part 1 of our series and learn more about the stock option landscape or Part 2 to learn more about the accounting and tax ramifications of issuing stock options.

What To Do?

As discussed above, there are significant risks that a company brings upon itself if it decides to issue stock options without properly valuing the options and the equity of the company. Rather than issuing stock options, if a company wants to offer an employee the opportunity to obtain an ownership...

Accounting and Tax Ramifications of Issuing Stock Options

 Click here to view Part 1 of our series and learn more about the stock option landscape.

To give you more perspective, first let us review the accounting treatment for the issuance of stock options (rest easy - this will not be too painful). When stock options are issued, an expense must be recorded based on the value of the option. A stock option’s value is derived from a variety of factors, two of which are the value of the stock as of...

When selling your home, it is common to use an agent to list, promote and show the property. In exchange, you pay a portion of the sales price as a commission to the agent. The benefits of using an agent include: 1) the listing of your home in a database so that homebuyers can access information about it; 2) the agent acting as your middleman during the negotiation process; and 3) the incentive it gives the agent to sell your home quickly (so that her or she can earn their commission). 

Some peop...

Advisor Insights

This month, our monthly Advisor Insights column in Smart Business Cleveland Magazine takes a look at lessons learned from the restaurant industry.

The restaurant industry is still feeling the sting of the recession, and the general consensus is that consumers are very pessimistic about 2010.Therefore, restaurants have had to adapt to survive as their longtime patrons trim their dining-out budgets.

What can other industries learn from the restaurant industries struggles? Click here...

With the crash of the real estate market some are looking to capitalize and purchase larger homes for a bargain price. In doing so, they face the problem of selling their current residence to make the move up. With the lack of buyer interest and with some people not willing to take such a large loss people are holding out for the market to rebound. This creates the problem of carrying two mortgages, which the monthly payments on two mortgages can create cash flow problems for many taxpayers in...

Many of us probably remember Harvey Dent, aka “Two-Face,” from our childhoods as one of Batman’s arch enemies. He looked like a normal guy from one perspective, but from the other side, he was a bizarre-looking villain. While normalizing adjustments in business valuation may not be quite as exciting as watching Batman battle Two-Face, they bear a similarity to this comic book character.

The results of many companies as reported in financial statements or tax returns do not always reflect...

While the likely adoption International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is a hot topic for accountants, many privately-held small and medium-sized business owners may not be aware of the potential changes on the horizon for financial reporting. The general consensus is that in the coming years, the U.S. will move to adopt IFRS in place of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) as the governing standards for financial reporting, although no official date for conversion has been set...

What did Picasso’s paintings look like when he was only halfway finished? How did Michelangelo’s “David” look like after the first few chisels? How livable is a house after the frame has been erected, but no interior work has been done?

A valid answer to all of the preceding questions is, “Something different than the final product.” However, for financial experts who provide opinions on economic damages and other litigated matters involving calculated figures, current rules sometimes allow for...

"Pay-Per-Click," or PPC,” is a method of online advertising that's measurable, flexible and very fast. PPC ads are paid listings that appear above and to the right of the free listings on Google, Yahoo, and other search engines. To be listed in a search engine’s PPC’s results you pay/bid in an auction like manner. With PPC you only pay for the ads that are clicked on, so in addition to being able to quickly, measure the effectiveness of your ad, you can also track and justify your results...

One unique service we offer to clients is the ability to compare our client to their industry benchmarks.  Our external benchmarking tools are tailored to our clients and their specific industries.  We can generate benchmarks based on revenue size, geographic region, North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, and also both public and private companies.  The service compares a number of financial metrics, and provides explanations and guidance as to variances your company has...

“Corporate Vigilance in Desperate Times” was the title of a presentation I made to a group of corporate controllers on behalf of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants.

It’s hard not to pick up a newspaper these days and see dismal economic results. The next article discusses employee layoffs. “Happy Days Are Here Again” will not be heard on your car radio on the way home. And once home, chances are that you don’t want to look at your stock portfolio or 401k statement that came in the...

The CPAs, business and financial advisors in Skoda Minotti's Real Estate and Construction Group recently authored an article for Builders Exchange Magazine.

The article summarizes some important accounting and tax provisions that construction professionals need to keep in mind. The article highlights the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Energy Policy Act of 2005, qualified rehabilitation and low income housing tax credits.

To view this helpful article, click here.

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