Services
Insightful, Effective, Efficient
Business Valuation
More than just completing a checklist
Business valuation is both art and science. There are parts of business valuation that are based on generally accepted techniques and principles. An example would be the build-up method for determining the appropriate expected rate of return. The long term interest rate and equity risk premiums are based on extensive history. Yet there is still debate about such topics as geometric vs. arithmetic means when computing a discount rate. There is even more subjectivity in determining company specific risk factors and discount rates. It requires experience, judgment, and objectivity to evaluate these factors and come up with a result that is reasonable. Joshua Feldman's experience both in industry, public accounting, and consulting has given Mr. Feldman a broad perspective that drives my conclusions. He is able to describe what assumptions were utilized and how they impact the computation. After drafting a report he has his clients and/or their advisors review the document to confirm the assumptions used, understand the methodologies employed, and accept the conclusions obtained.
Analysis
Making sense out of data
While many smaller businesses can be run by merely watching the bank balance rise and fall, many businesses need to become more aware of their economic relationships. Pricing is a critical issue for virtually any business. Frequently this is driven by the "market place." This is an important factor but not the only one that needs to be considered. The costs of producing your product need to be understood to determine price level and, where applicable, the flexibility in that pricing. Are volume discounts appropriate? Does the pricing structure correspond to the cost of production?
A service company's pricing was based largely on the amount actual repair work done. There was virtually no minimum even though scheduling was done weeks in advance. The company took on too many clients that had minimal work that tied up their service men. Pricing that had higher "curb" charges, the price for showing up, and lower prices per service performed would have improved revenue or driven off low service customers while retaining and attracting more high service customers.
The information needed to perform this analysis is frequently stored in transactional databases. The analytical process is often beyond the skill of ordinary accounting staff. Joshua Feldman has experience in complex loss reserving, reinsurance analysis, budgeting, and product costing. He has both the quantitative skills to see trends and the communication skills to make them and their significance clear to management.
Litigation Support
Objectivity and Explainability
Joshua Feldman has performed as both a testifying expert witness and as a consulting expert. Mr. Feldman's background in both public accounting and industry gives him a well rounded perspective on economic issues. As important as it is to understand those issues is the ability to explain them in plain language so other participants in the process can appreciate the issues that are of significance. Mr. Feldman has demonstrated his ability to accomplish this.
Administration
Receiving financial information
Joshua C. Feldman has extensive experience managing the financial operations of companies. He has served in the capacity of CFO and VP of Finance. He is especially adept at getting financial reporting functions to operate in a timely fashion. He has performed in both turnaround management and crisis management engagements. He has been responsible for financial reporting both in industry and in public accounting. He has prepared GAAP statements, Income Tax based statements, and statutory insurance statements. He also has implemented and managed the budgeting process at several companies.
His approach to engagements is to most effectively use existing systems. This brings rapid improvement at minimized costs. Techniques utilized include strengthening internal controls , training staff on improved skill sets to improve productivity and expand data availability, and process documentation.
Internal controls improvements make financial information more reliable and reduce the risk of fraud. Establishing responsibility for processes, and routinely verifying data, such as bank account reconciliation enhance the quality of your company's financial information. Appropriately segregating job responsibilities reduces the risk of employee fraud.
Training of staff on improved techniques improves productivity and also raises worker self-esteem and job satisfaction. At one company workers were trained on downloading of financial information into Excel spreadsheets to cut the time producing sales tax reports in half. The company worked in multiple states and some states have multiple tax districts and rates. Mr. Feldman has served as the in-house on Microsoft Excel, Word, and Outlook, and has familiarity with a number of other software packages including QuickBooks.
Process documentation is useful because it accelerates the training of new staff. The generation of documentation increases the understanding of accounting functions and can often highlight areas of improvement either by eliminating unnecessary steps or adding procedures to improve internal control and reliability. The end product demonstrates to auditors and lenders that management is dedicated to efficient operation.
Creativity Helps
There have been many occasions where Mr. Feldman has employed additional technology to improve corporate performance. He designed and implemented a database for managing claims data a leading medical malpractice insurance carrier. The results were improved productivity from the accounting staff and greater availability of data to improve underwriting sophistication and performance. The system also reduced duplicate vendor payments by identifying potential situations and having them further researched.
At a public accounting firm he instituted DSL internet through their local area network. They previously had a single dial-up line. This greatly enhanced communication to clients and access to information. He identified the need to acquire new faster network printers to eliminate compatibility problems with some software packages and dramatically reduce production bottlenecks during tax season.
These changes paid for themselves many times their investment within a very brief period of time in terms of operating efficiency, customer satisfaction, and expense reduction. Joshua C. Feldman strives to identify low cost solutions that easily justify themselves.