Ellen Rusco

Years ago, all a business owner needed was a big, leather-bound ledger on the desk. These days, regularly upgraded accounting software is a must. Why? As a system ages, bad data can build up and adversely affect financial reporting. Ever heard the term “garbage in, garbage out”? It’s true. In addition, by regularly upgrading your accounting software, you may be able to identify better ways to manage expenses and handle internal controls. Let our firm help you set a budget for regular upgrades and choose the products that best suit your company’s needs.

Cash flow fluctuations are intense for seasonal businesses. If your company defines itself as such, try to optimize your operating cycle. Look carefully at the beginning, middle and end of your cycle, identifying your strategic selling window. Try to stockpile cash received at cycle’s end, and then use those reserves to finance the next cycle. If you need a line of credit, compile a comprehensive loan package. Above all, draft a formal business plan, use financial projections and set budgets. Contact us for help with your distinctive challenges.

Many companies take an ad hoc approach to technology. If you’re among them, it’s understandable; you probably had to automate some tasks before others, your tech needs have likely evolved over time, and technology itself is always changing.

Unfortunately, all of your different hardware and software may not communicate so well. What’s worse, lack of integration can leave you more vulnerable to security risks. For these reasons, some businesses reach a point where they decide to implement a strategic IT plan.

Setting objectives

The objective of a strategic IT plan is to — over a stated period — roll out consistent, integrated, and secure hardware and software. In doing so, you’ll likely eliminate many of the security dangers wrought by lack of integration, while streamlining data-processing efficiency.

To get started, define your IT objectives. Identify not only the weaknesses of your current infrastructure, but also opportunities to improve it. Employee feedback is key: Find out who’s using what and why it works for them.

From a financial perspective, estimate a reasonable return on investment that includes a payback timetable for technology expenditures. Be sure your projections factor in both:

Also calculate the price of doing nothing. Describe the risks and potential costs of falling behind or failing to get ahead of competitors technologically.

Working in phases

When you’re ready to implement your strategic IT plan, devise a reasonable and patient time line. Ideally, there should be no need to rush. You can take a phased approach, perhaps laying the foundation with a new server and then installing consistent, integrated applications on top of it.

A phased implementation can also help you stay within budget. You’ll need to have a good idea of how much the total project will cost. But you can still allow flexibility for making measured progress without putting your cash flow at risk.

Bringing it all together

There’s nothing wrong or unusual about wandering the vast landscape of today’s business technology. But, at some point, every company should at least consider bringing all their bits and bytes under one roof. Please contact our firm for help managing your IT spending in a measured, strategic way.

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The United States is facing consequences from decades of deferred maintenance and underinvestment in infrastructure. At the same time, available public fund levels for such projects are low and resistance to increased taxation is high.  

One approach government agencies are exploring to help meet the needs for new infrastructure projects is developing public-private partnerships (P3s) . These arrangements could provide profitable opportunities for contractors in the near future, so it‘s important to know how they work.

The concept, defined

Under the P3 model, a public entity (federal, state or local) engages a private partner, which in turn hires, supervises and pays the contractor. The private partner may participate in the design, financing, operation and maintenance of the project, as well as in the construction. The specific role of the private partner varies considerably from one project to another. Ideally, everyone’s role is clearly spelled out in the contract.

The types of projects that have been handled as P3s include water and sewer systems, parking facilities, toll bridges, roads, highways and prisons. In some cases, the P3 is formed to develop a new infrastructure project; in others, an existing asset is transferred to a private partner that assumes responsibility for needed upgrades, repairs and ongoing maintenance work.

Pros and cons

The chief advantage proponents see in P3s is that both the public and private entities involved do what they do best. The public entity is better able to serve its constituency by targeting and completing the necessary projects. The private partner is motivated to work effectively and efficiently, because its contractually specified compensation depends on good performance.

In addition, by working together, P3 partners often are able to develop better infrastructure solutions than either could have come up with on their own. Projects may be built faster when time-to-completion is included as a measure of performance and, thus, profit. Risks are appraised fully before a project moves forward, with the private partner often serving as a check against unrealistic government promises or expectations. Taking advantage of the private partner’s experience in containing costs can mean more efficient use of government funds and resources, too.

P3s also present some potential disadvantages– especially where the size, nature or complexity of the project limits the number of potential private partners. When only a few private entities have the necessary scope and skills to handle the job, there may not be enough competition to ensure cost-effective partnering.

Furthermore, if the expertise in the partnership is weighted heavily on the private side, it puts the government at an inherent disadvantage. Under those circumstances, it can be difficult for the public partner to accurately assess the proposed costs.

The contractor’s perspective
As mentioned, P3s represent potentially profitable opportunities for contractors with the requisite experience and resources to perform the work. If you want to consider going after one of these projects, it’s important to be aware of the ways they differ from traditional public works construction.

At the state and local level, laws governing P3s vary widely from state to state and municipality to municipality. They don’t always offer contractors the same protections typically provided in publicly funded projects.

For example, some state P3 laws don’t address bonding requirements at all, while others allow alternative forms of security, such as guarantees from a parent company or equity partner. ( For more information, see “P3s and bonding” above.) Sometimes the security required makes it difficult or even impossible for a subcontractor or supplier to pursue payment claims, which can increase your risk of nonpayment on a P3 project.

Even more onerous, state and local governments own the land on which most P3s are built. Thus, subcontractors can’ t rely on mechanics’ liens for compensation if the general contractor defaults.

Your best interests
Analysts expect P3s to become more prevalent for infrastructure projects in years to come. So you may want to keep an eye out for such work and be prepared to pursue it, assuming the project suits your construction company’s strengths.

If you do get the chance to participate in a P3, consult your CPA attorney and surety rep before starting work. You‘ve got to ensure that the contract into which you’re entering will reasonably serve your best interests. •

Most business owners spend a lifetime building their business. And when it comes to succession, they face the difficult decision of whether to sell, dissolve or transfer the business to family members (or a nonfamily successor).

Many complicated issues are involved, including how to divvy up business interests, allocate value and tackle complex tax issues. Thus, as you put together your succession plan, include not only your financial and legal advisors, but also a qualified valuation professional.

Various value factors

When drafting a succession plan, a valuation expert can help you put a number on various factors that will affect your company’s value. Just a few examples include:

Projected cash flows. According to both the market and income valuation approaches, future earnings determine value. To the extent that a business experiences decreasing, or increasing, demand and rising (or falling) prices, expected cash flows will be affected. Historical financial statements may require adjustments to reflect changes in future expectations.

Perceived risk. Greater risk results in higher discount rates (under the income approach) and lower pricing multiples (under the market approach), which translates into lower values (and vice versa). When selecting comparables, the transaction date is an important selection criterion a valuator considers.

Expected growth. Greater expected revenue growth contributes to value. In addition, there’s a high correlation between revenue growth and earnings (and thus, cash flow) growth.

Other determinants of discounts

In many cases, valuation discounts are applied to a company’s value. For example, decreased liquidity translates into higher marketability discounts, while increased liquidity reduces marketability discounts. Other factors that affect the magnitude of valuation discounts include:

• Type of assets held,
• Financial performance of the underlying assets,
• Portfolio diversification,
• Leverage,
• Owner rights and restrictions,
• Distribution history, and
• Personal characteristics of the general partners or managing members.

Discounts vary significantly, but can reach (or exceed) 40% of the entity’s net asset value, depending on the specifics of the situation.

For best results

An accurate and timely value estimate can facilitate the succession process and prevent costly and time-consuming conflicts. Please contact Tom Vereecke for more information.

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Some business owners make major decisions by relying on gut instinct. But investments made on a “hunch” often fall short of management’s expectations.

In the broadest sense, you’re really trying to answer a simple question: If my company buys a given asset, will the asset’s benefits be greater than its cost? The good news is that there are ways — using financial metrics — to obtain an answer.

Accounting payback

Perhaps the most common and basic way to evaluate investment decisions is with a calculation called “accounting payback.” For example, a piece of equipment that costs $100,000 and generates an additional gross margin of $25,000 per year has an accounting payback period of four years ($100,000 divided by $25,000).

But this oversimplified metric ignores a key ingredient in the decision-making process: the time value of money. And accounting payback can be harder to calculate when cash flows vary over time.

Better metrics

Discounted cash flow metrics solve these shortcomings. These are often applied by business appraisers. But they can help you evaluate investment decisions as well. Examples include:

Net present value (NPV). This measures how much value a capital investment adds to the business. To estimate NPV, a financial expert forecasts how much cash inflow and outflow an asset will generate over time. Then he or she discounts each period’s expected net cash flows to its current market value, using the company’s cost of capital or a rate commensurate with the asset’s risk. In general, assets that generate an NPV greater than zero are worth pursuing.

Internal rate of return (IRR). Here an expert estimates a single rate of return that summarizes the investment opportunity. Most companies have a predetermined “hurdle rate” that an investment must exceed to justify pursuing it. Often the hurdle rate equals the company’s overall cost of capital — but not always.

A mathematical approach

Like most companies, yours probably has limited funds and can’t pursue every investment opportunity that comes along. Using metrics improves the chances that you’ll not only make the right decisions, but that other stakeholders will buy into the move. Please contact our firm for help crunching the numbers and managing the decision-making process.

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