Historical Financial Information-Audits, Reviews and Compilations
An Audit provides the highest level of assurance to management and outside third parties. An audit includes examining evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and assessing accounting principles and estimates made by management in their preparation. The completion of an audit results in a report providing positive assurance that the financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
A Review is the next level of service and consists principally of inquiries of company personnel and analytical procedures applied to financial data. The completion of a review results in a report that provides negative assurance that we are not aware of any material modifications required for the financial statements to be fairly presented in accordance with GAAP.
A Compilation is the lowest level of service and consists merely of preparing financial statements based upon information provided by management. The completion of a compilation results in a report that provides no assurance that the financial statements are fairly presented in accordance with GAAP.
A Financial Forecast presents an entity’s expected financial position, results of operations and/or cash flows for a specified future period of time based upon assumptions about future conditions and courses of action expected to be taken by an entity.
A Financial Projection presents an entity’s expected financial position, results of operation and/or cash flows given one or more hypothetical assumptions (i.e. what would happen if we invested in a new manufacturing plant, entered a new line of business, etc?).
Pro Forma financial information shows what the effects on historical information might have been had a transaction or event occurred at an earlier time (i.e. what would the organization’s financial condition and operating results have looked like in the prior two years had we acquired X company and eliminated duplicate overhead costs?).
Forecasts, projections, and pro forma financial information are often used to raise equity, obtain financing, or assist management and owners in evaluating a proposed transaction or possible changes in operations.
We can provide various levels of assistance and assurance to management and other third parties through Examination, Review, Compilation and Agreed Upon procedures and reports of Prospective and Pro Forma Financial Information.
Management and other third parties often want assurance that contractual or regulatory compliance requirements are being met, organizational internal control policies and procedures are properly designed and functioning properly, or certain assertions made by management are accurate and valid.
We can provide various levels of assistance and assurance to management and other third parties through Examination, Review, and Agreed Upon procedures and reports on Internal Controls, Compliance Requirements and Other Management Assertions.
Budgeting enables you to visualize the future of your business. Budgeting also permits you to identify those factors that are key to the success of the organization. Budgeting helps communicate expectations, anticipate future cash needs, and enhance decision-making.
Using a budget as a benchmark, you can readily identify where actual performance differs from planned performance. This insight will lead you to adjust the actions of the organization accordingly to meet its goals and maximize profitability.
We can help you develop a budgeting system, analyze critical budget factors and alternatives and help prepare, document and communicate the budget to management.
Cash management involves forecasting, receiving, controlling, disbursing, and investing funds from your operations. Besides helping to improve liquidity and increase profits, effective cash management will increase cash inflow, reduce cash outflow and increase the yield on idle funds.
We can assist in evaluating and improving your current cash management practices or in formulating new practices.
Maintaining and improving profitability and controlling costs are critical issues and objectives for most organizations. Every dollar reduction in costs drops straight to the bottom line. Most businesses track costs by natural classifications (i.e. salary & benefits, occupancy, administrative, etc.); however costs and profits are driven by the business activities of the business (i.e how you process and deliver products or services).
We can help you take a strategic approach to profit enhancement by identifying areas with the greatest opportunity for profit improvement; identifying how your business activities drive your costs; helping you to better track your costs and profitability; and making and implement recommendations to reduce, eliminate, or reallocate costs.
Do you want an objective, independent review of your organization-operations, systems, activities, organization, goals, strategies-to help you assess your performance, identify areas for improvement, and determine changes that need to be made? Our operational review covers all areas of the organization.
We will gather relevant information about the organization, meet with management and employees, tour facilities, conduct fieldwork and analyze information obtained. Our exit report will focus on areas where the organization can improve its performance and become more effective and profitable.
Are you tracking the key financial and non-financial ratios and information necessary to manage your business? Are you benchmarking them against your past performance and your competitors’ performance?
We can help you develop a scorecard to track your performance in key areas.
Do you have an effective performance measurement system that allows management to assess whether the organization’s systems are measuring activities consistent with its strategic objectives, comparing actual performance against goals, identifying those activities that provide the best opportunity for performance improvement, and evaluating the performance of employees?
We can help you develop an integrated system that will translate management’s strategy into action plans designed to ensure the strategy’s success.