OTHER SERVICES

We are more than just accountants. We are our clients’ business partners. As an accounting firm, we provide accurate and reliable financial statements and deliver timely tax returns. However, as a business partner we go well beyond that. We identify, report, and solve problems. We provide advice and answers to questions. We plan and we manage. If asked, we also act as part of the management team for fixed and pre-determined compensation with no time clock so that you are never guessing.

Our services and area of expertise include:

   Controllership (CFO) Services

Under Controllership services, we offer the expertise of a senior-level controller but on a part-time basis and at a fraction of the cost. As a virtual CFO, we help prepare budgets, set financial goals, implement budgetary controls, perform financial analysis, design and implement new financial systems, and participate in the day-to-day financial management of your business.

The benefits of our controllership services is summarized below:

   Bank Financing

Reporting on your historical results and dealing with the tax authorities on your behalf is well and good. However, we would like to see our responsibility to go much further than that. We will work with you and our wealth of contacts in the financial community to raise the capital that you need to expand your business. In the process, we prepare a Business Plan in which we define your goals and objectives, assess your financial needs, and document your ability to achieve the set goals and objectives. The Business Plan is then communicated with lenders who we believe are most likely to be receptive. We will also negotiate with the prospective lender for the best possible terms.

   Business Plans

To have an up-to-date business plan is an essential tool for companies of all sizes, but they are especially critical for businesses in a start-up phase, and companies that are undergoing significant change or need to raise new capital through financing or equity. Regardless of the stage a business is at, we take the view that objectivity is the corner stone of any business plan. We believe that a plan that is based on solid assumptions, supported by facts on the ground is a road map to success. It is easy to sell the road map to success to everyone, including shareholders and financiers alike. We create detailed business plans that are well documented and easily implemented.

   Strategic Planning

This is a vital management exercise that defines objectives, clarifies corporate priorities, selects options and helps put your business on the path to a pre-determined destination. We develop the methodology to identify and probe into the issues that are critical to the success of your business. We also help analyze different aspects of the business, capture key performance indicators, facilitate strategic decision making, report and follow-up the timely implementation of the plan.

   Estate and Trusts

Generally, a Trust regulates an arrangement between a Settlor, trustee, and beneficiary whereby the Settlor contributes property that is, after the transfer, legally owned by the trustee, who also manages and controls the property for the benefit of the beneficiary. This is usually formalized under the terms of a trust deed. The Settlor is a person who transfers, lends or otherwise gives property to a trust. The trustee legally owns and administers the property. The beneficiary is the person for whose benefit the trust was created. A person (including a corporation) may hold one or more of these titles.

From a taxation stand point, trusts are considered as individuals. However there are many different types of trust, each specifically created with a specific objective in mind. Depending on the type, trusts are taxed differently. A Trust can be created upon the death of a person (a testamentary trust) or during a person’s lifetime (an inter vivos trust). A trust can be revocable, in that the Settlor retains the right to terminate or otherwise alter the trust deed, or it can be irrevocable. A discretionary trust is one in which wide discretionary powers are granted to the trustee in making decisions on behalf of the beneficiaries.

Planning and compliance matters and taxation laws for estates and trusts can be complex. We understand the taxation of estate and trusts and will work to minimize the overall tax burden on the trust and its beneficiaries.