How to Analyze Your Business Expenses

How to Analyze Your Business Expenses

by | Oct 1, 2012 | Archives

Q: What are the best strategies for analyzing expenses in my business? A: While analyzing expense trends is vitally important, I have to first ask if you, the business owner, are the most qualified person to do this task. What’s important here are the answers, not the time spent analyzing expenses. If you have a CFO, he or she should already be doing this analysis for you. And a really good controller will be proactive about doing this kind of work. Bear in mind, however, that it’s beyond the skills and experience of most bookkeepers. That said, I understand the entrepreneurial drive to try to find the answers. So if you’re going to go it alone, or you just want to understand what your CFO or controller should be doing, here’s a step-by-step plan. Analyze the income statement. For every line item in the operating expenses, calculate the dollar amounts and percentages of revenue. Your accounting reporting software (such as QuickBooks) should be able to spit out reports like this very easily. Compare the numbers to last month, the last three months, the average of the last three months (called “rolling average”), average year-to-date and the same month last year. Next, examine the “why” behind the numbers. I had a client whose parking-ticket fines for his delivery trucks jumped significantly compared to the last quarter and last year, and it was killing revenue. Turns out the city had tightened its enforcement. We shifted the delivery schedules and hired a ticket-fighting service that more than paid for itself. Compare “actuals” to budgets. One of the most important financial management exercises is the creation...
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Announces Alliance with B2B CFO

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Announces Alliance with B2B CFO

by | Sep 8, 2012 | Archives

Professional alliance offers more holistic approach for business owners HOUSTON, Sep 06, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Morgan Stanley Smith Barney has announced a new national alliance with B2B CFO, the largest CFO services firm in the United States. This agreement provides an innovative blueprint for a coordinated effort to meet both the corporate and personal wealth management needs of privately held businesses and their owners. The relationship, formalized through Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s Professional Alliance Group, allows B2B CFO to refer clients to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney and is the exclusive alliance of its kind for B2B CFO, which offers chief financial officer services to companies across the country. The firm has 216 Partners in 45 states, and advises more than 800 clients across North America. Additionally, B2B CFO has been recognized as one of the Inc. 500/5000 fastest growing companies for the last three years. Through this relationship, clients referred by B2B CFO may access not only the wealth management expertise of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney financial advisors, but also a more integrated and coordinated approach to their finances and investments. The comprehensive approach of Morgan Stanley Smith Barney financial advisors covers a wide array of financial considerations of a business owner and is closely aligned with the business-specific financial guidance provided to clients by B2B CFO. “This is an important professional alliance for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney,” said Michael Brunner, Senior Vice President and Financial Advisor in Morgan Stanley Smith Barney’s downtown Houston office. “This concept has the potential to provide a paradigm shift in the way privately held business owners manage their finances. Instead of the...
Morgan Stanley Aims for Small Business Clients

Morgan Stanley Aims for Small Business Clients

by | Sep 8, 2012 | Archives

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney aims to increase the number of its small-business wealth management clients through an exclusive referral agreement it announced today. MSSB announced the alliance with Phoenix-based B2B CFO, the largest CFO services firm in the United States which advises more than 800 clients. B2B CFO serves owners of privately held companies with revenues up to $75 million that want to increase cash, profitability, sales and company value. The relationship, formalized through MSSB’s Professional Alliance Group, allows B2B CFO to refer clients to Morgan Stanley Smith Barney. “This is an important professional alliance for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney,” said Michael Brunner, senior vice president and financial advisor in MSSB’s downtown Houston office. “This concept has the potential to provide a paradigm shift in the way privately held business owners manage their finances. Instead of the traditional ‘siloed’ approach that involves multiple advisors, business owners now have the ability to apply a comprehensive strategy to help reach their financial goals for both their family and...
Why Your Intellectual Property Is at Risk

Why Your Intellectual Property Is at Risk

by | Aug 17, 2012 | Archives

By James O’Brien, AmEx Open Forum Is your intellectual property protected? Small-business owners are often saddled with enough work to fill a 48-hour day. But in efforts to keep your business alive, missing a few key steps in protecting your “great idea” can ultimately lead to your losing that idea to IP theft. A Growing Problem: Intellectual Property Theft in the U.S. Recent statistics from the U.S. International Trade Commission tell the tale: Patent, copyright, trademark and other kinds of IP infringement investigations went up 37 percent in 2011 from fiscal year 2010. The 337 investigations opened under Section 337, in 2011, represent the greatest number of new inquiries started in any given year tracked by the Commission. “This clearly points to a much larger problem and I am willing to bet that the statistics for this current decade will be much higher,” says Jerry Mills, the owner of an accounting firm and a near-victim of IP theft. “Businesses, especially small and growing businesses like ours, are prime targets for intellectual property misappropriation and must take proper measures to protect their intellectual property and trade secrets.” Ideas on the Line: The Story of B2B CFO When Mills started B2B CFO in Phoenix, Ariz., in 1987, he pioneered an idea that he calls “CFO for hire.” His firm provides focused chief financial officer services to mid-market and growing entrepreneurial companies. “Every company, regardless of size, needs a chief financial officer,” Mills says. “With us, people can afford a CFO without hiring a full-time person. On a 1099 basis, we make those services affordable.” In April 2006, Mills’s company brought on a partner with the firm, providing just...
Radio Segment with radioentrepreneurs.com

Radio Segment with radioentrepreneurs.com

by | Aug 13, 2012 | Archives

On August 6th, 2012,  Frank Armenio of B2B CFO was featured on Radio Entrepreneurs highlighting what B2B CFO is and what we do for our clients. Radio Entrepreneurs is a radio talk show highlighting the stories of entrepreneurship. This show focuses on entrepreneurs of all kinds, stories of success, and provides listeners with advice and insight from others. Each week, entrepreneurs come together over the airways and in person to bring entrepreneurship to its full potential. The B2B CFO featured interview is available here for...
B2B CFO® Among Nominees in Small Business Influencers Ranking

B2B CFO® Among Nominees in Small Business Influencers Ranking

by | Jul 20, 2012 | Archives

Vote for B2B CFO in the Corporations category and for Jerry Mills in the Leaders category Phoenix, Ariz., July 20, 2012 — B2B CFO and company’s founder Jerry L. Mills are among the nominees in the 2012 Small Business Influencers ranking. Small Business Influencer recognition was established to honor companies, organizations and people who have made a significant impact on the North American small business market. Last year, Jerry L. Mills, founder and chief executive officer of B2B CFO was recognized among the “Top 100 Small Business Influencers” in North America in the inaugural run of the awards program created jointly by Small Business Trends and Small Business Technology. This year, B2B CFO has been nominated in the “corporations” category and Jerry Mills is nominated in the “leaders” category. The polls are now open for casting votes. To vote for B2B CFO follow this link: http://influencers.smallbiztrends.com/small-business-vendors-2012/b2b-cfo-1/ To vote for Jerry L. Mills follow this link: http://influencers.smallbiztrends.com/small-business-leaders-2012/jerry-l-mills-1/ Voters can visit the awards website, http://influencers.smallbiztrends.com/, to cast their vote for the company and/or person worthy of the Small Business Influencers recognition. The community votes account for 40% of the decision and then it progresses to the judging panel where they decide the top 100 champions in the small business market. The polls will be open through August 4th, 2012. ABOUT B2B CFO Headquartered in Phoenix, Ariz., the firm was founded in 1987 by Jerry L. Mills who pioneered the “CFO for hire” concept. Today, B2B CFO is the nation’s largest CFO firm serving entrepreneurial, growth and mid-market companies. The firm’s partners have an average of 25 years of experience and each...