As the office of the controller becomes ever more strategic—creating higher levels of financial visibility to help drive growth and profitability—the financial organization’s relationship to the controller role must evolve as well.
In order to sustain their businesses for the long term, successful business owners tend to be thoughtful in their investments. They act like chess masters, deciding their next five moves in order to maintain a competitive edge and stay in the game. Yet throughout this business cycle, the RSM US Middle Market Business Index has shown that middle market leaders have been slow to increase capital expenditures, despite incentives provided in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. This is concerning in light of today’s rapid pace of business transformation.
A flexible operating model drives innovation and responsiveness to market changes.
Wealth may be structured to either protect assets or make them harder to reach by creditors. While fraudulent conveyance with respect to existing claims is an unavoidable risk, steps should be taken sooner rather than later. Understanding the various asset protection techniques that are typically used and the “fraudulent transfer” rules that may undermine any asset protection structure is critical to examining what level of asset protection is best suited for you.
Transactions for the purchase and sale of businesses are rarely all cash deals. No matter the transaction structure, the use of financing to consummate the purchase creates a new dimension and layers of complexity requiring additional scrutiny and analysis by a discerning seller (or its principals). When financing the purchase of your business, there are five things the deal team should consider.
Employers are facing workplace retention challenges with increasing regularity. Whether this is the result of a shift in generational norms or a strong economy, employees seem to be more mobile than ever before. Looking at costs alone, recent studies have shown that the cost of recruiting a new employee can be as high as 200% of the former employee’s salary. What can employers do in response to increase higher retention rates?
The 2017 Tax Act presents planning opportunities around the choice of entity. Existing clients with pass through entities like S-Corporations and LLCs need to consider if maintaining this status is prudent given the changes in the tax law. In the past C-Corporations considered elections to become pass through entities to avoid two tiers of tax. What is best for a particular client situation will challenge past convention on choice of entity as optimization is dependent on facts and circumstances.
Massive data breaches, constant collection of personal data—it may seem like privacy is dead in the digital age. But privacy, security, and trust are increasingly vital and intertwined in a data-driven society. For CEOs and boards, the existential question is less about the future of privacy and more about the future of their own organization, including if their company can muster the will and imagination needed to jolt stalled privacy risk management into action and become a trusted brand for responsible innovation and data usage.
How can risk executives embrace innovation while preparing for unknown risks such as a self-driving car commandeered by hackers, data analytics software that unintentionally reflects biases, or autonomous weapons that cause accidental casualties? This challenge was explored in the Risk in Review Study of more than 1,500 senior risk executives globally. Adapters—those with programs that tackle innovation-related risks somewhat or very effectively—practice five actions that set them apart. And their programs exert much more influence over decisions about innovation.
Many employers and family offices find performance reviews can be a challenging task. But with a new take—one that turns a performance review into a career conversation—it can become an opportunity to establish a healthy dialogue that provides space to exchange feedback, assess performance, and “take the temperature” of the manager and staff. The time spent with your team is valuable, as well as critical to the success and cohesiveness of your organization, business, office, or home.