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Disengaged Employees Are Holding You Back. Here’s How to Deal.

You’ve seen it before: A once promising employee stops taking initiative. Spends far too much time scrolling through Facebook. Constantly calls out sick, and is nowhere near reaching the goals you agreed on. As a manager, can you turn a disengaged employee around? Should you bother? Read on for advice.

First things first: What is employee engagement?

According to CustomInsight, a leading provider of online HR assessment and development tools, employee engagement is “the extent to which employees feel passionate about their jobs, are committed to the organization, and put discretionary effort into their work.” (Don’t confuse employee engagement with employee satisfaction, which merely indicates whether your employees are happy.)

So how does an employee become engaged—or not? “Studies show work engagement is influenced by three primary psychological states: meaningfulness, safety and availability,” says Zach Mercurio, Ph.D., a faculty member and researcher in the department of psychology at Colorado State University. “Psychological meaningfulness is characterized by an employee’s knowledge and belief that what they do is positive, purposeful and significant. Psychological safety manifests when employees perceive they can speak up about new ideas or concerns without fear of retaliation or [damaging their] reputation. Psychological availability means employees have access to the resources they need to do their job. When these three things occur, engagement usually follows. But there’s a catch. If the demands of the job (i.e., time and tasks) outweigh the resources one has to maintain energy for the job, burnout and disengagement can follow.”

Since engagement is not always easy to measure, you might want to rely on more than just observation—your own and others’—to assess a particular employee’s situation. “Employees have different personalities,” says Lilia Stoyanov, CEO of Transformify. “Some may be more enthusiastic and outspoken than others but not necessarily more engaged.” Stoyanov suggests measuring engagement via 360-degree peer reviews and surveys, met deadlines, and the employee’s voluntary enrollment in internal training and other activities that are encouraged by the company.

Addressing disengagement

If you’ve noticed a troubling pattern that lasts more than a few weeks, talk to the employee right away. “Too often we fall into a bad habit of talking about our employees with managers and coworkers when it would be just as easy (and a lot more useful) to talk to them,” says Jason David, CEO of Software Portal. There may be an easy way to remedy the disengagement and pull them back in.”

“It’s not uncommon for employees to have weeks that are just off, [so] discussing it with them is a good way to make sure it doesn’t become a trend.”
It’s not uncommon for employees to have weeks that are just off, [so] discussing it with them is a good way to make sure it doesn’t become a trend, adds Alexander Kehoe, co-founder and operations director at Caveni Digital Solutions. “It’s unhelpful to discipline an employee if they are in the middle of something in their personal life that could be hurting their performance. The ebb and flow of productivity are perfectly normal, and getting to the bottom of why an ebb is occurring should be your main concern.”

Chuck Mollor, an executive leadership coach, agile management expert, and founder and CEO of MCG Partners, agrees that talking to your employee is a good first step, but cautions managers not to assume the employee is disengaged. “Leaders who notice a change in an employee should start with a sit-down meeting, informally and privately with the employee, to ask how they are doing. If they respond that everything is fine, it’s your opportunity to offer specific observations describing how they may be showing up in meetings, responding to questions, their recent level of activity, team participation, energy level or performance. The purpose is to not accuse them or make them defensive; this should be a conversation of concern and empathy.”

Ellen Mullarkey, vice president of business development at Messina Staffing, stresses the need for a calm, relaxed environment for the discussion, one “where the employee feels comfortable speaking freely.” Like Kehoe, Mullarkey advises leaving performance out of the first conversation. That way, there won’t be tension, and the employee won’t feel reprimanded, she says.

If you’re unsure how to begin the conversation, Leesa Schipani, SHRM-SCP, a partner with KardasLarson, advises asking the following:

  • What motivates you to stay with the organization?
  • Why do you want to succeed in your role?
  • Which aspects of our culture work for you? Which do not?
  • If you were your own manager, how would you manage yourself?
  • How can I help you have a more rewarding experience each day?

During the conversation, “you need to be prepared to hear some negative things about the organization and your leadership style,” Schipani cautions.

Robert Moses, founder of The Corporate Con/noisseur, agrees. “When we measure engagement, we do so by asking our employees for their honest feedback. But this only works if you can create an environment of openness and one without fear of retribution. By being open and honest with our staff, we get the same courtesy back,” he says.

Once you’ve identified the root cause of the problem, you can begin to remedy it. “If a personal issue is distracting the employee, he or she should be referred to an HR support function for employees who are facing personal or family issues,” says Irv Goldfinger, managing director at Actualize Consulting. “If the root cause is job related, identify whether it’s the employee’s assignment, the clients that the individual must deal with on a daily basis, an issue with other team members, or challenges with colleagues or a supervisor. Once the cause is identified, a formal program for resolution should be drafted in conjunction with the employee and his or her supervisor.”

Performance improvement plan or termination?
If you discover that your employee is disengaged from the job and not just going through a temporary rough patch, you’ll have to determine whether a performance improvement plan is the logical next step, though the solution may be even simpler. “Depending on the factors driving the lack of engagement, the employee could be assigned to a new project, moved to a different team, etc.,” says Stoyanov.

“Determine whether [the employee] understands the work and finds it useful,” says Rich Franklin, founder and president of KBC Staffing. “Then, figure out if they have a good relationship with their manager and whether they are able to communicate with him or her. Once you have these answers, tailor your solution. Telling someone to become more engaged is probably not going to help. It’s equivalent to telling someone to feel better when they have the flu. You need to be clear that there is a problem and lay out a clear set of guidelines for improvement. It’s important that your employee knows what needs to change and by what date.”

“If the employee has quality characteristics and a decent attitude, and is coachable, it’s in everyone’s best interest to put a mutually agreeable plan [in place] for specific areas of growth,” says Tracy Washington, a Certified Leadership Engagement Consultant and author of Relationship Leadership: How to Strengthen Relationships to Build More Trusting and Effective Teams.

A performance improvement plan doesn’t always make sense, though. “You don’t want to put an employee on a performance improvement plan when they clearly don’t want to work for your organization,” says Schipani. “At that point, help them transition out.”

“There are times when termination is appropriate, in cases of sabotage, lack of team collaboration, or [an employee who] is toxic to the culture,” adds Washington.

“Actively disengaged people will sabotage your business and your team. They look for ways to undermine you and destroy the organization. Don’t try to fix these people. Terminate them immediately.”
“There’s a difference between being disengaged (apathetic) and actively disengaged (destructive),” adds Bryan Zawikowski, vice president and general manager at executive search firm Lucas Group. “Actively disengaged people will sabotage your business and your team. They look for ways to undermine you and destroy the organization. Don’t try to fix these people. Terminate them immediately. There is hope for disengaged associates, but don’t let it fester. Deal with it privately and directly. Explain that you have noticed the behavior change—be specific—and ask them why. Don’t let them get away with a simple apology. Once you find out what’s driving the disengagement, you can take appropriate action to get it turned around.”

“If you feel the employee has the potential to turn it around, have an open, honest and courageous dialogue,” says Mollor. “They need to understand the gap between where they are and where they need to be. If an employee does not demonstrate they can do their job effectively or improve performance after feedback, coaching and development, or they do not consistently demonstrate the appropriate values and behaviors of your organization and culture, then terminate them. The longer you procrastinate, the longer your morale and overall team performance may suffer.”

What about your A-players?
Speaking of morale, you need to consider how the actions of a disengaged employee and your reaction (or lack thereof) are affecting your top performers, who may be annoyed that they’re required to compensate for their teammate’s lack of effort. “Sometimes all it takes to smooth over ruffled feathers is to let them know that you aren’t oblivious,” says David.

You can keep your A-players motivated by giving them complicated assignments and sponsoring their continuing education, says Stoyanov. “By default, A-players are bright people eager to learn and develop.” Financial incentives are also key. “Performance bonuses are a great way to encourage good performance and differentiate the A-players from those who aren’t pulling their weight,” she says.

You can also stress to your top performers that not everyone is cut from the same cloth. “Remind your A-players that the world is not created equal and not everyone is on the same level as they are,” says Mollor.

“If [top performers] come to you with complaints, assure them that you’re addressing the problem,” says Mullarkey. “Talk to them, and use their input to steer your course of action. You shouldn’t share any information with them about their coworker’s improvement plan, as it’s not their business, but you should let them know that you take their input to heart and that you’re working on rectifying the issue.”

Zawikowski puts it a little more bluntly: “A-players who are fully engaged recognize those lower on the engagement ladder and need to see their leader doing something about it or they won’t stay around.”

Adds Washington, “A leader must demonstrate the ability to confront the under-performing employee in a timely manner or risk losing their credibility and the respect of the team.”

Create a culture of engagement

Perhaps the best way to combat disengagement is to try to prevent it in the first place. You can accomplish this by making sure your employees know what the company is working toward and how they contribute—and why it all matters. “The root cause of disengagement is misalignment between the individual’s values and the corporation’s core values,” says Sergei Brovkin, an executive coach and facilitator with Collectiver. “If the employee’s core values are misaligned with the company values, whether declared or implicit, make the person available to the job market. Letting go is not a bad thing if a person is a good specialist: he or she will find a more engaging job elsewhere. Keeping a toxic person (and that’s what disengaged people really are) in the company because of some special talents is usually a bad idea, especially if the company is small.”

Communication is critical, too. “Poor communication impacts employee engagement by making team members feel removed from decisions and devoid of any sense of ownership,” says Carlos Castelán, managing director of The Navio Group. “In many ways, poor communication, or a lack of communication, is worse than conflict because it signals to someone that they’re not valued enough to be included. Poor communication can lead to role ambiguity as well as heightened stress because of a lack of feedback, which ultimately leads to talent drain or other symptoms of low engagement.”

Create a culture of truth-telling, says Jim Haudan, co-founder and chairman of Root Inc., and Rich Berens, Root’s CEO. The co-authors of What Are Your Blind Spots? also caution managers not to assume people will share their real opinions. “Often, people don’t think it’s safe to share their thoughts with leaders, and so they whisper in the halls and commiserate during happy hours. This is an engagement killer. Welcome honesty, ask for real feedback and work together to make adjustments so everyone feels a part of the decision-making and is on board with the plan. That’s how you create true engagement.”

“It has become increasingly important for employers to find ways to engage and show appreciation for their team members, particularly against the backdrop of one of the hottest job markets in recent memory,” says Castelán. He says businesses can show appreciation through an empathetic approach in their culture and recognizing employees for a job well done. “Critical to being empathetic is updating work policies that reflect the changing nature of work such as flexible work schedules and, for example, allowing work from home. Building a work culture that reflects an understanding of the realities of the modern age is important to attracting the best talent.”

“On the recognition side, providing regular feedback to employees—particularly stars—and then showing gratitude via recognition is important,” Castelán says. “Recognition should be done in a way that’s memorable or unique versus a blanket approach like a generic plaque. Employees want to feel unique and valued, so thinking through recognition that is personalized is important.”

How do you create a culture of engagement at your company? Join the conversation on @CT_Innovate.


 A Five-Step Plan for Turning Around an Employee Who’s Disengaged

  1. Address the underlying issue. At the heart of disengagement is an underlying issue that is allowing the employee to feel this way. We look to have open, transparent conversations with all employees to address their satisfaction and engagement with what we do.
  2. Formulate a plan. The next step is to work directly with the employee to set up a plan of action. Find topics and projects that truly interest the employee. We push to have the disengaged employee become an active member in projects they are passionate about.
  3. Remove barriers to unhappiness. All disengaged employees are unhappy about something, so we look to see what external stressors are influencing the employee’s mood. Whether it’s their commute, their feelings of being overworked or a personal issue, we try to work with them to ease those external influences.
  4. Encourage happiness. It sounds cheesy, but we push our employees to engage in happy, relaxing activities. Whether it’s a 30-minute walk outside or a weekly lunch provided by the company, we try to give all our employees something to look forward to.
  5. Show direct impact. The last, but most important, step is to show impact. Disengaged employees may not [recognize] the impact of their work, so we show them how their work and actions influence the larger picture and provide value to our users.

—Robert Moses, founder of The Corporate Con/noisseur

How the Finance Industry Can Use Local SEO to Its Advantage

navigating map on tablet

Photo courtesy of Pixabay via Pexels.com

Do you work in the financial industry? It’s very competitive. In fact, 50 percent of financial analysts in a class drop out by the time they reach the associate level. Moreover, selling financial products is even harder due to the high targets, and with millennials preferring to save money rather than invest it, the market is quickly becoming scarce.

Don’t be discouraged! There are many ways you can gain an advantage over your competitors. One of the best ways to do so is through local search engine optimization (local SEO).

What is local SEO?

For many of you who work in financial institutions and markets, this could be the first time you have heard of local SEO. Let’s quickly discuss what it is to give you a better idea of how it can help you gain an advantage.

Local SEO optimizes the content of your website and/or social media platforms so they will rank better in search engines for a local audience. It’s a great way for financial advisers and other industry professionals to promote their products to people who are geographically near to them at the exact time they do a local search. According to Propelrr, the case study suggests that five out of 10 local ‘near me’ searches are in the financial industry. That’s a huge potential for the finance industry to penetrate the digital landscape.

tablet and keyboard

Photo courtesy of Pixabay via Pexels.com

What are the benefits of local SEO for your financial business?

Wondering how local SEO can help your financial business? Take a look at this list of benefits the financial industry can get from local SEO.

1. Better visibility in search engines – When you search online, have you noticed that you seldom go to the second page of the results? Do you know how many online users do? Only 0.78 percent!

Local SEO makes it easier for people to see your business online. The higher your site ranks in search results, the better the chance that your potential customers will see you.

2. Increased online and foot traffic – When people don’t see your business, they can’t come to you. Local SEO strategies will help put your business out in the open. Business owners can expect an increase in online and foot traffic if they execute their strategies correctly, especially if your business name, address and phone numbers (NAP) are up to date and consistent across all channels. Keeping your NAP updated will help build online consumers’ trust in your business.

3. Better brand authority – Did you know that businesses that get the number-one spot in a search engine get 32.58 percent of online search traffic? That’s because links/websites on the top spot of the search engine results page (SERP) are considered an authority on whatever it is a user is searching for. And because your business is seen as the authority, it will get a huge chunk of online visits.

4. Google My Business (GMB) page optimization increases map visibility – Want people to know where your bank’s branch is? A great way to inform people of your bank’s location or office is by optimizing your GMB page. The GMB page is usually shown at three locations online: (1) Google search page, (2) Google Maps and (3) most online listings, like Google, Bing or Yelp.

People will get to see your business name, address and phone number (NAP). The information is used by Google to display in searches and maps, making it easier for potential customers to visit you or send you a message. Just make sure that your details and business category are correct so that Google won’t penalize your business by losing organic search visibility, traffic and revenue.

5. Increases your website’s rank in search engines – Google assigns human evaluators to check if your site is to their standards. You must optimize your content locally for your website and GMB page. Your rank in search engines will go up if your local SEO strategy is executed correctly. What this means for a financial business like yours is that your website and business are easier to find and/or discover by first-time and returning customers.

6. Local SEO reaches customers who are in need of your service – Unlike paid ads that intrude on the user experience, local SEO organically reaches customers who are in need of your financial service. Your business can be presented first to a person who has done an online query searching for a service similar to yours. It’s an efficient and cost-effective method of getting more reliable conversions, as well as building an online reputation and domain authority.

7. Local SEO is 100 percent free – Unlike running paid ads on social media platforms, local SEO is basically free. Setting up your GMB page is free, optimizing your content is something you can do using the many free online tools, and keeping your NAP consistent across all platforms is free. Anyone working in a financial institution should realize that this is a good deal that can help you earn big.

stack of books

Photo courtesy of Pixabay via Pexels.com

8. It’s easy to learn – SEO, in general, is relatively easy to learn compared with the number-crunching a financial business does. Moreover, hundreds of blogs offer free resources to learn how to do SEO. If you’re worried about financial institution regulations, well, local SEO is the future of the digital world, and Google takes care of those who break their rules by imposing penalties to sites.

9. Social sharing – Local SEO provides possibilities to build partnerships with other businesses through backlinks and social sharing. Such partnerships help both your financial business and your partner. The more partners you get to cite your websites, the better it is for your business and for theirs.

10. Increase in repeat business – As mentioned, local SEO builds trust in Google and your customers. And if you provide great customer service and value to them, the trust you’ve earned will turn into repeat customers and, of course, more profit for your business.

Local SEO is clearly a great bargain (especially considering it’s free) for the many benefits you can get out of it for your business. These benefits should convince you to update your website and GMB page as soon as possible to reap the rewards of local SEO.

 

Guest article by:
Jason Garcia
Blogger and Business Manager
www.investmentdad.com

How to Write a Killer Survey

checklist illustration

How to Write a Killer Survey

 

Customer feedback is critical, and surveys are a great way to get it. But how do you craft a survey that will deliver the actionable results you’re after? Experts offer their best advice.

 

THE DIGITAL MARKETER SAYS…

“Make it accessible. We live in a survey-polluted world. Every time you visit a shop or receive a service, chances are you’ll receive a survey about it. It’s great that you have a voice, but with the high volume of surveys people receive, surveys have become more of a nuisance than a privilege. That’s why it is insanely important to make the survey extremely accessible to the consumer. Don’t make the consumer go to a bunch of sites, create an account and fill out a hefty survey. Try to cut down as many steps as possible.

“Make it short. I know you’re dying to find out every bit of information you can from a consumer, but chances are if a consumer opens a survey that’s pages long, he or she is going to exit right out of it. Make the survey as short as possible—five to seven questions tops! Also, see if you can make it multiple choice or selection based, because if consumers see a bunch of lengthy text boxes they’ll also exit out. Always give the option for a customized answer if the consumer feels passionate about your service/business.

“Make it polished. As silly as it seems, make sure your survey looks polished. A survey is an extension of your brand. Consumers should feel impressed no matter what stage of your marketing funnel they’re in.”

—Ciara Hautau, lead digital marketing strategist, Fueled

THE UX (User Experience) DESIGNER SAYS…

“The biggest reason people don’t complete surveys is that they’re too long. Unless you are reimbursing [respondents] for their time, you want to keep the survey short, with a maximum complete time of five minutes. Show them how much progress they have made so they can see how much is left. It’s frustrating going through the steps of a survey and never knowing how many [questions] are left.

“Consider offering an incentive, such as a prize draw for gift vouchers. You don’t have to offer huge sums of money. Fifty dollars can be enough to increase completed survey rates by 10 percent.”

“Be consistent in your rating scales. If you use ‘1 = terrible’ and ‘5 = amazing,’ stick with this in all of your ratings.”—Paul Manwaring, UX consultant, Outsprung

THE BUSINESS CONSULTANT (WITH A MASTER’S DEGREE IN PSYCHOLOGY) SAYS…

“Most businesses use Likert-type surveys—those that ask if you agree, disagree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree, etc.—without knowing what these are or how to do them properly. Please stop doing this. [You] get bad data, and [the results] don’t say what people think they say.

“True Likert surveys need five to eight questions to answer one topic. If you aren’t going to ask that many questions, I recommend at least two, with only three options for answers: agree, disagree, undecided.

“Likert’s brilliance was that he realized most people avoid demonstrating strong opinions. These are socially unacceptable. So people tend to mark the middle, which is why Likert put ‘undecided’ in the middle. This answer removed people’s [response] since they had no opinion. Next, some people will fudge and just mark all the answers to the far right (strongly agree) or far left (strongly disagree). Having a positive and negative version of a question (‘I enjoy shopping at Wal-mart’ plus ‘I do not enjoy shopping at Wal-mart’) removes noise because they cancel each other out. That left Likert with real responses.

“If you only use two questions, you really only need agree/undecided/disagree. This is why Netflix only has a thumbs up and thumbs down. Thumbs up is positive (agree), and thumbs down is negative (disagree). When you don’t rate a film on Netflix, it counts as undecided. Netflix only factors in the movies you rate positively and negatively. That’s all you really need for a customer survey. Amazon’s five-star reviews are an example of Likert in action too. Amazon uses these to help decide what to sell you, so think about that the next time you write a review!

“Next, we get into what you want to survey for. If it’s for product development, that’s usually a bad idea. Customers don’t know what they want. Most people didn’t realize they needed a television or radio. After all, they had books. Apple took a chance on smartphones, and look at its market share now. Heck, look at the iPod and how it revolutionized the music industry.

“If you want to develop a product or service, solve a problem. And survey for problems. What bothers people? What do they hate doing? What are they doing now that your product will do cheaper?

“As for length, shoot for no more than 20–30 Likert-type questions. People will spend more time and do a better job on surveys if they are paid, due to a sense of fairness. You also get more honest responses if they put their name on the form versus doing it anonymously, unless the topic is embarrassing. Avoid open-ended questions, and if you have them, you need five or fewer.”

“Finally, listen to your customer support people. They know what people do and don’t like about your product. Customer service call center databases have some of the best open-ended discussions a company can get their hands on. The reasons people call will help optimize products and can create efficiencies elsewhere. Along those same lines, you get more valuable feedback from fan clubs than you get from focus groups. So start a fan club, don’t hire a focus group. Fan clubs love your product and want it to be better. They are more invested than focus groups.”

—Anthony Babbitt, MS, MCSE, business consultant

THE BUSINESS STRATEGIST SAYS…

“When it comes to creating customer surveys, the key is to learn what the customers’ pain point is. Ask, What problem are you trying to solve? Keep this question open ended. By allowing customers to use their own words, you not only gain insights into how they see the problem (as opposed to your assumption of the problem), you also get verbiage you can reuse in your marketing to create an emotional connection. Another key question (that should also be open ended) is what their dream solution to this problem is. This gives you an insight into what your customer is looking for.

“When writing the survey:

  1. Use qualifiers. Not everyone you are speaking to or who is willing to answer your survey is your ideal customer. Using conditional logic, the first few questions should ask information that confirms that you are speaking to your ideal customer.
  2. Think about UX design. This is often an overlooked piece and can contribute to how many responses you get. The survey doesn’t need to be a beautiful piece of art, but it should be easy to use.
  3. Unless you only have a handful of questions, don’t put all your questions on one page. This can be overwhelming to the user and may limit the number of people who are willing to fill out your survey.
  4. Only ask the critical questions. This is not the time to ask every question that you want an answer to. Ideally your survey should take less than four minutes to fill out. If it takes any longer, not only will the number of responses go down, but the quality will too.

“Software and tools don’t need to be complicated. A free tool such as Google Forms works just fine. To help the business later on, capture emails in this process.”
—Kat Rosati, business strategist, Apparel Booster

Why Fintech Disruptors Are Good for Big Banks

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Content-Detail-News.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Why Fintech Disruptors Are Good for Big Banks

The financial crisis has been over for some time now, and the banking industry has recovered. Arguably, though, banks’ reputations have not. In addition to the general public’s overall dissatisfaction with big banks, a generational divide exists.

Link to PDF[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/backtocontentlibrary.png” alt=”back to content library” link=”true” href=”http://ctinnovations.com/access-content-library/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”” class=”back-image”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

Mastering Cash Management

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Content-Detail-News.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Mastering Cash Management
Effective Cash Flow Strategies for Growing Companies

If you have been fortunate enough to hit that sweet spot wherein, through hard work, instinct, timing and opportunity, you find yourself at the helm of a thriving, profitable business, you have already achieved what many others have only dreamed of.

Yet, once you have realized your vision and created a successful business, the prospect of what it will take to remain on top can be daunting.

So, what makes one company the pinnacle of success and another the failed execution of an otherwise brilliant plan? Although the answer might surprise you, history has demonstrated that ineffective cash management has been the nemesis of many an entrepreneur. The old adage “cash is king” is as true today as it was the first time it was ever uttered.

That’s why we created, with the help of seasoned business managers, investors and lenders, a guide to effective cash management. Download “Mastering Cash Management: Effective Cash Flow Strategies for Growing Companies,” and you’ll find tips on:

  • The fundamentals of cash management
  • How to put together a cash flow statement
  • How to accurately forecast cash flow
  • How to manage growth
  • How to manage accounts receiveable and accounts payable
  • How to raise funds to fuel growth
  • How to invest idle cash balances
  • and more

Link to PDF[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/backtocontentlibrary.png” alt=”back to content library” link=”true” href=”http://ctinnovations.com/access-content-library/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”” class=”back-image”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

Budgeting and Financial Statements for Startups

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Content-Detail-News.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Budgeting and Financial Statements & Financial Plans for Startups

In addition to the hundreds of other things you must think about when starting your business (e.g., facilities, equipment, personnel, permits and sales), you must consider a financial plan (budget) for the business and a way to measure financial performance (financial statements) against the budget on a periodic basis. Once your company has been financed through either debt or equity, you can expect that your investors will require (1) an annual, board-approved budget, (2) quarterly (or more frequent) statements showing a comparison of the budget to actual results and (3) quarterly (or more frequent) financial statements based on generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). You can also expect a requirement that your annual financial statements be audited by an independent certified public accounting firm.

BUDGETING – A THREE-STEP PROCESS

1) Develop goals – The most effective budget is one that starts with the corporate goals of your organization, and your budget is a tool to understand the financial consequences of your operational plan. The corporate goals of organizations will vary greatly among industries and may include sales goals (for manufacturing and distribution companies), billable hours (for professional service providers) and scientific goals (for biotechnology companies). Goals should be developed by the management team and/or CEO and be focused on creating value for your shareholders.

2) Determine resources, make estimates and assumptions – Significant thought is necessary to plan what resources are necessary to reach your goals. For example, a new product launch requires assumptions and estimates around pricing, units sold, cost of goods sold, additional marketing costs, sales force requirements and more. If your corporate goals involve research and development of new products, it is important to consider head count, equipment and facility needs. Other considerations may include a public offering of your equity, which requires estimates and assumptions around legal costs, auditor fees, printing fees and more. When developing estimates for these items, don’t be shy about reaching out to your network to get these estimates.

3) Compile the results – The last part of the budgeting exercise is to compile the results from steps 1 and 2 and produce, in Excel, an operating budget and a capital budget. The compilation will provide a financial picture for your organization based on the goals for the coming year. The complexity or simplicity of this compilation will depend on the complexity or simplicity of your operations. Your operating budget should include logical cost centers that will correspond, at some level, to your organizational chart. The exhibit is a hypothetical example of this compilation.

Expect the budgeting process to be iterative – you will likely need to revisit these three steps several times prior to submitting the documents to your board of directors for approval.

FINANCIAL STATEMENT PREPARATION

Financial statements, the basics – Four financial statements are outlined under GAAP: a balance sheet, statement of operations, statement of cash flows and statement of changes in stockholders’ equity. Plus, a set of footnotes accompany the financial statements. You can get an idea of what is included in a set of financial statements by looking at any public company’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings through EDGAR on www.sec.gov. The balance sheet is as of a point in time and outlines the company’s assets, liabilities and stockholders’ equity. The three other statements (operations, cash flow and changes in stockholders’ equity) are for a period of time, typically a three-month period and a 12-month period.

Under GAAP, financial statements are required to be prepared on an accrual basis and not a cash basis, which requires a bit of training. In general, expenses are recorded when incurred, not paid, and revenue is recognized when earned, not received. GAAP also requires the capitalization of fixed assets (e.g., equipment, buildings and so on) and requires that they be depreciated over their useful life. If you do these three things – (1) record revenue when earned, (2) record expenses when incurred and (3) capitalize and depreciate fixed assets – you are on your way to producing GAAP financial statements for your investors.

Financial statements, the complex – GAAP requires other items that are best left to certified public accountants (CPAs), including accounting for stock-based compensation, income taxes and derivative financial instruments (e.g., warrants, puts rights, call rights and so on), which may be embedded into your financing documents. You should strive to get agreement with your investors that these items will be reflected not in your quarterly statements but rather in your annual statements. Likewise, you should plan to provide footnotes to the financial statements on an annual basis, not a quarterly basis. These actions will save you significant time and expense while still allowing your investors to adequately track your financial performance.

Budget to actual – Once you have finished your financial statements, you can make a comparison to your operating budget and capital budget. You should share these results with your board of directors at your regularly scheduled meetings. The exhibit includes an example of a hypothetical budget to actual.

Accounting and budgeting software – Several types of accounting and budgeting software are available, all with different levels of complexity. QuickBooks should meet your needs as a startup, as it has the ability to assist with bill payment, invoicing, fixed asset tracking and preparation of financial statements. Once an organization becomes more complex, with decentralized operations, it may be time to turn to more sophisticated material requirements planning (MRP) software packages, but a discussion of these packages is outside of the scope of this article.

About the Author 

Sean Cassidy

Sean Cassidy is the chief financial officer of Arvinas, a biopharmaceutical company located in New Haven, Connecticut. He was previously chief financial officer or controller of three other Connecticut-based bioscience companies. Sean is a CPA and spent over nine years in the audit practice at Deloitte in the Hartford office. You can contact him at sean.cassidy@arvinas.com.

 

 

Link to PDF[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/backtocontentlibrary.png” alt=”back to content library” link=”true” href=”http://ctinnovations.com/access-content-library/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”” class=”back-image”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

The Importance of Estate Planning for the Closely Held Company

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Content-Detail-News.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Estate & Succession Planning for the Closely Held Company

Why is estate planning so important for the closely held company? Let’s consider two scenarios:

Scenario 1
You start a business that is doing less than $1,000,000 in sales in its first year, but you know you are onto something valuable. The company sales over the next 30 years grow to $200,000,000 and generate over $10,000,000 in free annual cash flow.

You initiated estate planning when you were young. At the time you turned the company over to the next generation, just prior to your death, the value of your estate was below the level at which it would be subject to estate taxes.

Scenario 2
The facts are identical to scenario 1 above, but you did not undertake estate planning until the company was more mature.

Your children are struggling with a $40,000,000 estate tax, and they may have to sell the business to pay the estate tax.

In scenario 2, how can your children avoid the estate tax without losing control of the company?

We will assume that you have elected the provisions of Subchapter S of the Internal Revenue Code and that your company is an S Corp for income tax purposes, or it is operating as a limited liability company. Either way, you are paying only one level of tax. You definitely do not want to be a C Corp, which is taxed under Subchapter C of the Internal Revenue Code and thus is subject to two levels of tax. The company pays one level of tax on its net income, and you pay another level of tax on distributions to you from the company.

Back to how to accomplish the estate tax savings…

Reorganize the stock structure of your company to Class A Voting and Class B Non-Voting Stock! 

First, you reorganize the structure of your company so that it has two classes of stock. One is a Class A Voting stock, which represents 1% of the equity of the company, and the second is a Class B Non-Voting stock, which represents 99% of the equity of the company. The shares must be identical except for the voting rights. Otherwise, you’ll breach the two classes of stock rule that is applicable to S Corps. For whatever reason, the IRS chooses to treat two classes of stock as “one class” of stock if the only difference between them is voting rights.

Note – Although I am writing this article on the assumption that you have an S Corp, the same principles, with minor variations, are applicable to limited liability companies.

Second, you exchange all of your shares of the common stock of the company that you currently own for all of the Class A Voting and the Class B Non-Voting shares. You keep the Class A Voting shares and use the Class B Non-Voting shares to reduce your estate through gifting.

Gift-Giving Plan 

Third, you start an annual gifting program of the Class B Non-Voting shares to members of your family. If your children are minors, you’ll use a minor’s trust to obtain the benefit of the $14,000 annual gift tax exclusion for each of your children.

Discounting 

Fourth, you use the benefit of “discounting.”

What is discounting?

If a company goes to Wall Street to obtain an investor, the investor will not be willing to pay the full value for the company’s Class B Non-Voting shares because he or she will not be able to either sell the shares on a market (thus, it is an illiquid investment) or control the investment.

Let’s say that the company is worth $20,000,000 and it wants to sell 20% of its shares for $4,000,000. The investor will insist upon a discount, say 25%, because his or her shares will be illiquid and he or she will not be in control of the company.  Thus, the investor will be willing to invest $3,000,000 for a 20% interest in the company for the risks he or she is taking.

This is called “discounting,” and tax attorneys have been using it successfully for years in family-held businesses. Yes, the IRS does not like the concept and has argued the point in court, but the courts have held that the gift tax laws say that the fair market value of a gift is the standard that the statute requires be used for gifts, family included.

Translate this concept of “discounting” into a family situation, and a 25% discount means that each annual $14,000 gift is actually valued at $18,666.

Over a period of years, when your company is young and far less valuable than it will become, you can transfer a substantial amount of equity on a tax-free basis.

So far so good for your company when you start early. But what if you didn’t start early, and the company has grown so that the annual gift-giving plan has some value but you need more to spare your children the “big taxes” problem that arises in scenario 2 above?

The Grantor Trust      

What is a grantor trust?

A grantor trust is a trust that you create and in which you retain sufficient powers so that the income of the trust is taxable to you, but the ownership of the assets in the trust belongs to your children.

The Internal Revenue Code provides that if you retain the power to borrow from the trust without adequate interest or security, or you retain the right to substitute property of equal value in the trust, the trust is a grantor trust. If your spouse is an income beneficiary of the trust, the trust is also a grantor trust.

How does this help? The answer is two-fold:

First, you will sell all or some of your Class B Non-Voting shares to the trust for either a private annuity or an installment note.

Second, you will be paying the income taxes on the income in the trust even though the assets of the trust belong to your spouse and/or children. In essence, the amount of the tax you pay on income of the trust is a tax-free gift.

Installment Note vs. Private Annuity       

Which do you choose?

When selling your Class B Non-Voting shares for an installment note or private annuity, be aware that the concepts and tax consequences for each are different.

The Installment Note 

The sale for an installment note is a freezing technique. You have the estate taxes covered for the value of your company now, but don’t want to increase the value of your estate. In essence, you want to freeze its value.

Because the sale of your Class B Non-Voting stock is to a grantor trust, the IRS treats the sale as a sale to yourself, and there is no recognizable gain on the sale. The IRS treats the sale as if you took assets from one pocket and put them into another pocket.

Thus, you have no capital gains taxes to pay, and in turn, the payments you receive from the trust on the installment note are without tax consequences.

You die 10 years later. The balance of the installment note is included in your estate, but the appreciation on the shares during the 10-year period escapes any estate taxes.

The Private Annuity     

The private annuity will eliminate the value of the stock from your estate on day one. Because a private annuity ends upon your death, it has no value upon your death, so the full value is excluded from your estate.

However, if you live to age 120, your trust will have to continue to pay the annuity for the rest of your life.

Life Insurance 

Life insurance can be a very valuable tool if it is purchased by an irrevocable life insurance trust.

If you have an estate plan, and you want to insure the taxes that are payable until your plan has achieved the tax consequences you want, life insurance may be a very good purchase.

Many whole-life policies can generate sufficient cash buildup over a 10- or 12-year period, which permits you to fund the projected estate taxes during the 10- or 12-year period the plan is active. After that period, you cash the policy in for its cash surrender value, which can be equal to all or a large part of your investment in the policy.

A Note on GRATs 

If you have done any estate planning and have been told to consider grantor retained annuity trusts (GRATs), we would advise against them in the current low-interest environment. An installment sale to a grantor trust has, in my opinion, more certainty and yields better results.

A Note of Caution 

I have discussed the concepts above only briefly. Be aware that there are also exceptions and technical rules that must be followed to ensure a successful outcome.

My advice – Seek competent legal and tax advice before proceeding!

Thanks for reading! Hope this helps!

About the Author

Joel KarpJoel Karp is founder of the law firm Karp & Langerman P.C., which serves as general counsel to closely held businesses, from startups to those doing $200 million in gross sales. You can contact Joel at jkarp@karp-langerman.com. He is based in the firm’s Milford, Connecticut, office.

Link to PDF

[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/backtocontentlibrary.png” alt=”back to content library” link=”true” href=”http://ctinnovations.com/access-content-library/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”” class=”back-image”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

Revenue Recognition – Why Is It So Important?

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Content-Detail-News.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]Revenue Recognition: Criteria and Why It’s So Important

Today’s financial world puts a great emphasis on meeting targets. From the perspective of those who run businesses and their employees, it can mean the difference between a large bonus or being let go.  From a stockholder’s perspective, it could mean the difference between selling or holding a stake in a company. The most common measure used to gauge whether one has met targets is revenue. Revenue typically drives the success of most businesses, as it is a means of generating profits and increasing equity. For this reason, attaining proper revenue recognition is paramount.

Revenue recognition in some instances can be simple. Consider a manufacturer that sells a non-warranty product to a customer. In this instance, revenue is recognized when all four of the traditional revenue recognition criteria are met: (1) the price can be determined, (2) collection is probable, (3) there is persuasive evidence of an arrangement, and (4) delivery has occurred.

Revenue recognition gets complicated when the above criteria do not apply, which is typically due to the type of industry that companies operate in. For instance, some of the more complicated industries include technology, real estate, media and entertainment, construction and healthcare.

Revenue in these industries is typically contract driven and determined on a customer-by-customer basis, and even a contract-by-contract basis. In particular, revenue from contract accounting could be subject to the revenue recognition criteria of multiple deliverable arrangements. Under this set of criteria, revenue may not be recognized over the life of a contract in a systematic way; rather, contract revenue could be broken up into segments and recognized when certain milestones or deliverables are achieved.

In the technology and software industries, for example, revenue is recognized when certain segments of a contract are completed. The most complicated part of revenue recognition for these industries is the valuing of contract segments, which are not always broken out in the contracts themselves and often do not follow the operational substance of the contract.

Revenue recognition in the real estate industry carries its own complications. Each transaction involving the sale of real estate is unique, and contrary to popular belief, recognition of a sale does not necessarily coincide with the legal transaction itself.

These are just a few of the nuances related to industries with unique revenue recognition models. Given the need for guidance and clarification on existing and new revenue models, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) developed numerous industry-specific standards for revenue recognition. However, these standards are extremely detailed and have led to inconsistent treatment of similar types of transactions across industries. In addition, companies in their infancy can be overwhelmed by the various iterations of revenue recognition throughout the accounting standards, particularly when they do not fit into the cookie-cutter, industry-specific guideline categories.

Revenue Recognition – The Future!

It’s been 10 years in the making! In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). This update was done in step with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and seeks to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue and develop a common revenue standard for accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (US GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

Why did the FASB issue the accounting standards update? The update was a response to the increasing concern in the financial industry related to inconsistencies across companies and industries regarding revenue recognition. There was also a need to clarify the differences in the US GAAP and IFRS standards, particularly where investors have the need to compare companies’ financial performance across the world.

The new standard will eliminate many of the inconsistencies brought on by the industry-specific guidance, specifically with respect to revenue generated from contracts with customers. It will serve as a uniform standard that will supersede most of the previously issued guidance and provide a framework that all industries can follow.

The main premise of the guidance is that companies will recognize revenue upon the transfer of goods or services to customers in amounts that reflect consideration for those goods or services. Companies will now have specific principles and steps to follow to determine proper revenue recognition. In addition, expanded disclosure requirements for US GAAP financial statements will add transparency to financial reporting.

What does this mean for your company? Most companies will be impacted by the new standard in some fashion. Your company may now have expanded disclosure requirements or need to change its processes, controls, tracking systems and/or technology used to account for revenue recognition.

It is hard to say what the changes will mean for your company until you apply the new accounting standard to your company’s specific circumstances. In some cases, the new standards will change the timing of when revenue is recognized – such as when there are contracts with bundled equipment and services, long-term contracts or customer incentives, or when there is licensing of intellectual property. The new standard will likely change the way many companies recognize and analyze revenue.

Revenue Recognition – What Is Next? 

If you are asking yourself “What is next?” or “Where do I begin?” you’re not alone. The first step is to determine what the impact of the changes to the standard will be compared with how you currently recognize revenue. These changes could influence more than just revenue recognition for your business. With that in mind, you will want to consider business implications such as income tax planning, compensation plans and debt arrangements, all of which could be affected by changes in the timing of revenue recognition.

Although the new standard is not effective until 2017 (for public companies) and 2018 (for non-public companies), now is the time to evaluate potential impacts on your company beyond how you recognize revenue. This standard may change the way you operate your company, report your financial results and/or comply with covenants and regulatory requirements!

Useful Links:

  • Marcum Assurance Services
  • Marcum Industry Guide
  • IASB and FASB Issue Converged Standard on Revenue Recognition
  • FASB and IASB Announce the Formation of the Joint Transition Resource Group for Revenue Recognition
  • FASB Revenue Recognition 3 Part Video Series

 

About the Authors

Ted LucasTed Lucas, CPA, is a senior manager in the Assurance Services division of Marcum LLP’s Hartford office. He has more than 14 years of experience conducting and performing assurance engagements for publicly traded and privately held companies in various industries. You can contact Ted at ted.lucas@marcumllp.com.

Timothy LandryTimothy J. Landry, CPA, is a senior manager in the Assurance Services division of Marcum LLP’s Hartford office. He has 13 years of experience conducting, reviewing and analyzing financial information for companies that span a variety of industries. You can contact Timothy at Timothy.Landry@marcumllp.com.

Link to PDF

[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/backtocontentlibrary.png” alt=”back to content library” link=”true” href=”http://ctinnovations.com/access-content-library/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”” class=”back-image”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

How to Develop an Indirect Rate for Your SBIR Proposal

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Content-Detail-Computer.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]How to Develop an Indirect Rate for Your SBIR Proposal

In this webinar, Ed Jameson of Jameson & Co. CPAs will show you how important an indirect rate is to your SBIR proposal. You’ll learn how to calculate your indirect rate properly and what mistakes to avoid in establishing your rate so you can be sure that you won’t lose hundreds of thousands and even millions of dollars in federal funding.

This webinar is part 2 of 2 in a series with Ed Jameson. You can view the first webinar on “How to Establish an SBIR Accounting System that Can Withstand a Government Audit” here.

About Ed Jameson

Ed JamesonEd is a managing partner of Jameson & Company, CPAs. He has helped clients secure billions of dollars in government grants and contracts, and has extensive experience in the indirect rate recovery process.You can contact Ed at ed@jamesoncpa.com.

Link to PDF

[/cs_text][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ class=”cs-ta-left” style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/backtocontentlibrary.png” alt=”back to content library” link=”true” href=”http://ctinnovations.com/access-content-library/” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=”” class=”back-image”][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][/cs_content]

How to Establish an SBIR Accounting System that Can Withstand a Government Audit

[cs_content][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][x_image type=”none” src=”http://ctinnovations.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Content-Detail-Computer.jpg” alt=”” link=”false” href=”#” title=”” target=”” info=”none” info_place=”top” info_trigger=”hover” info_content=””][/cs_column][/cs_row][/cs_section][cs_section parallax=”false” separator_top_type=”none” separator_top_height=”50px” separator_top_angle_point=”50″ separator_bottom_type=”none” separator_bottom_height=”50px” separator_bottom_angle_point=”50″ style=”margin: 0px;padding: 45px 0px;”][cs_row inner_container=”true” marginless_columns=”false” style=”margin: 0px auto;padding: 0px;”][cs_column fade=”false” fade_animation=”in” fade_animation_offset=”45px” fade_duration=”750″ type=”1/1″ style=”padding: 0px;”][cs_text]How to Establish an SBIR Accounting System that Can Withstand a Government Audit

In this webinar, Ed Jameson of Jameson & Co. CPAs explains why it’s extremely important to have a proper accounting system in place when dealing with SBIR/STTR awards. You’ll learn what you need to do so you don’t lose hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars in federal funding. Don’t let it happen to you.

About Ed Jameson

Ed JamesonEd is a managing partner of Jameson & Company, CPAs. He has helped clients secure billions of dollars in government grants and contracts, and has extensive experience in the indirect rate recovery process.You can contact Ed at ed@jamesoncpa.com.

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