Service Descriptions and Benefits

Consulting Services

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Service	Service Description	Primary Benefits
General consulting	Collection of services that are generally considered management assistance services. While traditional audit, accounting and tax services tend to focus on an organization's external needs, consulting focuses more on your specific internal needs. You define what you want to achieve. We help you formulate the right deliverable.	Client-determined deliverable High level of client interaction Flexible service definition Easy to tailor service to your goals Improve an organization's efficiency Help attain organizational goals and objectives
Accounting policy manual preparation	Assist with or prepare a set of uniform policies and procedures to be followed in the performance of an organization's accounting function. We start the process by reading and/or documenting your current policies and procedures. We organize those policies into an logical, understandable format that can be in either a written or electronic format or both.	Improve consistency of accounting function Assist in training accounting personnel See expanded page description
Assistance with financing	Assistance with gathering, organizing, or interpreting  information needed as support for obtaining financing. This service can also encompass the identification of financing sources.	Improve ability to present financial information needed for acquiring financing Identify financing sources
Budgets & forecasts	Budgets and forecasts are financial pictures of assumed future financial activity. The terms "forecast" and "budget" are often used interchangeably and mean expected or most likely result. However, a budget can also be presented in a flexible format that covers a range of potential scenarios. For scenarios that are not the most likely to occur (in other words, "what if" events) a budget is referred to as a projection. We can help you prepare or interpret variances between actual and anticipated results.	Signals to management that corrective actions may be needed in some aspect of operations Provides a financial road map Establishes financial targets Increases accountability Contribute to the reduction of expenses
Business plans	A business plan is a guide that directs an organization's efforts when considering a new product or service, a new line of products or a new business. A business plan is usually part of a broader overall strategic plan. We can work with you to develop and write a realistic plan that that includes these key elements:  Executive summary of major plan points. Description of the business or product. Business environment analysis of: Industry characteristics and trends Market potential Competition Strategic plan that includes long-term goals, assumptions, tactics for achieving the goals and success indicators. Analysis of management skills and experience in operations, marketing and finance. Financial analysis, such as forecasts or projections.	Coordinates  Provides measurable, accountable guides for implementing a planned course of action Coordinate marketing efforts Assess
Business start-up services	Starting a business is difficult and time-consuming. What you really want is to do the work you're good at. We can help with the back office part. For example, we can set up records, organize the accounting system, assist with bookkeeping, and help you file the necessary forms for payroll and income taxes.	Improve process efficiency Identify business reporting requirements Assist in accounting system set-up
Business succession planning	Development of a plan to gradually transfer management of a business from a retiring owner (usually a parent) to others (often children). A well-organized plan can help smooth the transition and anticipate areas of difficulty	Smooth continuity of operations Anticipation of the needs of the retiring owners and successive owners
Cash flow projections	This service identifies how and when cash is generated and used. It is a useful tool when preparing for or considering debt refinancing, business expansion or general business planning.	Improve cash collections Identify primary sources and uses of cash flows
Cost management consulting	Identification of an organization's critical costs.	Identify opportunities for expense reduction
Custom report writing	Using your existing software, prepare custom reports that are not part of the default reports supplied with the software package. In addition, this service can also include tailoring your existing financial statement formats into a style that fits your management needs.	Create new management reports Improve management reports Identify important trends
Data extraction	Through the download of data directly from your system, we can analyze certain transactions and perform analyses that go  well beyond the scope of traditional assurance services, such as audits.	Analyze huge amounts of data quickly Identify unusual transactions or data Perform unique analyses of interrelated data
E-business assessment	A prelude to a worthwhile move into e-business starts with assessing the viability of your operation within an e-business environment. The specific steps will vary depending on your particular circumstances.  Some steps to consider for an e-business operation include: Feasibility Implementation Follow-up and Monitoring Who to contact We are available to assist with any or all steps.	Improve initial success Maintain long-range perspective Improve overall operational efficiencies Identify preventable costs See expanded page description
Employee benefits consulting	Identification of options available for benefit plans. Assistance with the administration of your plan.	Improve employee retention Remain competitive in personnel marketplace
Executive compensation planning	Assessment of the compensation paid to an organization's executive for the purposes of tax planning and executive retention.	Integrate compensation with the objectives of the company
Financing alternatives	To grow at a pace that keeps up with business opportunities, an organization may require more capital than can be generated from operations alone. Additional financing can come from any combination of financial institutions, owners, individuals and other sources. Analysis of the available options provides valuable information for selecting the financing mix that best fits with the organization's long-term goals.	Assess alternative sources of financing available to organizations
Fraud prevention and investigations	This service includes investigation of alleged fraudulent activities as well as assessing your company's current risk. We believe the best deterrent to fraud is a system of strong controls combined with education about identifying the warning signs of fraud. Since many of the controls that deter fraud can also help prevent unintentional errors, a fraud assessment engagement is a particularly valuable one. Fraud prevention services can: Train you to spot red flags Train employees on their role in fraud prevention Assess your existing fraud risk Test your antifraud controls Train employees to embrace your organization’s core values and guiding principles Fraud investigation services can: Perform confidential investigations Assist your legal team with investigatory procedures Assist with internal investigations Lead a multi-disciplinary investigation team Examples of specific services: Fraud risk check-up Tests of antifraud controls Agreed-upon procedures Collaborative investigations Assistance with fraud policy Employee awareness training	What are the benefits to you? Preserve your cash Adopt “best practices” Reduce temptation Promote success Protect your organization’s reputation Even if not material to financial statements, misappropriation can still be substantial Promote a culture of honesty Create a positive workplace Enhance ability to recruit and retain high-quality employees Suggest ideas for deterring fraud Investigate allegations of fraud See our articles: Create an Antifraud Culture Protecting Your Company from Employee Fraud Expanded fraud services page
Information systems	This service focuses on the information you need to run your organization and achieve your strategic goals. We start by asking you questions to determine what relevant financial and non-financial information you need to make critical decisions. This information might come from inside or outside your organization. Next, we assess the reliability of the sources and content of the information you receive now. Based on our evaluation, we will help you identify new information sources or alternate performance measures. Finally, we'll offer recommendations for improving the efficiency, practicality or responsiveness of your system.	Upgrade to a more efficient information system Engineer a system that provides the information that you want Evaluate the security of your system
Key performance measures	Identification and assessment of key leading and lagging indicators that are relevant to a particular organization. Performance measures unique to the organization can also be developed so that an organization can benchmark its performance	Improved management Identification of trends
Lease/buy decisions	Assess the merits of leasing versus buying an asset. Analysis can include a determination of the cash flow effects of either decision	Assess the merits of leasing versus buying an asset
Litigation support	Services as either an expert witness or as a consultant.	Litigation consultation Expert testimony
Mergers and acquisitions	Whether selling or purchasing a business, detailed information is required. We can assist in the due diligence process. The extent of our service can be tailored to your needs and can range form valuation assistance to assessment of underlying records to a determination of tax consequences.	Provide objective evaluation of the financial aspects of a proposed transaction Assist in due diligence procedures Identify potential tax consequences of a proposed transaction Assist in determining the structure of a proposed transaction
Operations review	The objective of an operations review is to evaluate and recommend improvements in:  Overall operations A segment of operations or Specific processes within a segment A typical engagement, which is more than just looking at the financial picture, starts by helping you define a desired state of operations, i.e., where would you like to be.) Then we assess the current conditions, i.e., where are you now.  Through an interactive process, we help generate ideas for improvements, evaluate the best solutions and provide you with support during implementation of the solutions. To the extent a particular solution requires new training, we can help with training or offer recommendations for other qualified trainers.	Increase operational efficiency Identify growth areas Improve profit potential Suggest process improvements Increase organizational stability Improve competitive strength
Outsourcing decisions	Assist in evaluating the merits of performing certain functions internally or contracting the function to an outside party. The service includes a cost analysis.	Evaluate cost/effectiveness
Planning, modeling and analysis	Evaluate existing revenue volume, margins, and costs in order to set achievable, measurable targets for critical components of profit or other business activities. Through the use of models, we can develop views of possible outcomes based on specified levels of activity, assumptions or other variables. We can also recommend ways to implement and monitor appropriate plans of action.	Improve strategic planning process Reduce operational risk Identify critical variables and their effect on revenue or profits
Policies and procedures manuals	Assist with or prepare a set of uniform policies and procedures to be followed in the performance of a particular aspect of an organization's operation. Examples of functions include accounting, personnel, information technology, and quality control. We start the process by reading and/or documenting your current policies and procedures. We organize those policies into an logical, understandable format that can be in either a written or electronic format or both.	Improve employee performance Improve operational consistency Reduce risk of operational errors See expanded page description
Process improvement / documentation	Evaluating of a current flow and action points related to the accomplishment of some objective and recommending options for improvement. Improvements could be in the areas of reduced processing time, fewer action points or reduced costs related to a process or improved quality in the process.	Improve operational efficiency Suggest process alternatives
Profit improvement review	Consulting service designed to assist with a plan for improving an organization's profitability. Components of a profit improvement review can include, at your option, such elements as break-even analysis, cost studies, price sensitivity modeling, or expense analysis.	Identify opportunities to improve profits Analyze current profit margins by product or service
Project management	Consulting service where we assist in the management and implementation of a particular project.	Increase efficiency Avoid possible hiring of additional personnel on a short-term basis
Strategic planning	A strategic plan is an organization's road map. It shows you where you want to go, how you plan to get there, what to expect along the way, when you expect to arrive, how you'll recognize your destination and who will be responsible for getting you there. We can serve you best in this area by acting as an outside, independent facilitator for one or more sessions in which key members of your organization develop a strategic plan consisting of:  A list of an organization's long-term goals Opportunities and threats to organization objectives Actions necessary to achieve those goals Timetables for completing the actions Identification of success indicators Assignment of accountability	Improve long-term profitability Formulate organization's vision Reduce long-term organizational risks Assess organizational strengths Assess organizational weaknesses Assess competitive advantages Facilitate communication of organization vision
Technology consulting	An extensive array of services that are designed to help clients determine what they want their computers to be able to do. This can include: Hardware selection Software selection System implement assistance Trouble-shooting existing systems Software application training	Reduce risk of poor technology decisions Identify opportunities for efficiency Assess IT security IT training See expanded page description
Telephone communication training	Do people in your organization answer the telephone in a friendly, positive way or do they communicate in a rushed, "why did you interrupt me" tone? By developing a few positive habits, you can strengthen your image with callers--even those who call with complaints. We have a training program that can help you develop those necessary habits. The training includes tips from how to answer your phone, communicate effectively with a variety of callers, and prepare effective voice mail greetings. This process is easy to implement and can greatly improve your image and effectiveness with callers.	Improve telephone communication skills Improve customer service
Valuations	A business valuation is the establishment of a value of a partial or entire interest in a closely held business or professional practice. Factors taken into account include quantitative and qualitative measures, as well as tangible and intangible factors related to the business being valued.	Assess the value of an organization Assist in the sale of a business Assist with estate planning Assist with litigation support See expanded page description
CPA WebTrust	This service provides a unique seal of assurance for electronic commerce. CPA WebTrustSM is designed to assess commerce web sites to assure they meet specific criteria for standard business practices, controls over transaction integrity and information protection. Not quite ready for a seal of approval? We also consult about what you need to do to strengthen you site.	Assess controls over data integrity Assess adequacy of disclosure of business practices Assess controls over customer data protection Also see e-business assessment guide

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Definitions and Benefits for Other Services:

Audit, Accounting and Attestation
Consulting
Tax
Technology Services
Individual and Family Services