Rules of thumb" regarding the value of a business no longer hold water in today’s rapidly changing business environment. A business that may once have been worth three, four, or five times gross revenue no longer holds the same value unless it can demonstrate potential cash flow or synergistic value to a potential buyer. A valuation analysis by our Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), can help a buyer or a seller make a wise business decision regarding the value of a company.

A CVA is a business valuation professional who has the demonstrated education, training and experience to have confidence and credibility to perform the valuation of a business enterprise. The CVA designation is reserved for professionals who have first obtained a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) certificate and then completed a five-part business valuation course of study along with a comprehensive examination.

A CVA will give you the credibility and confidence necessary to make decisions or resolve disputes regarding the value of a business entity or intangibles such as patent valuations. A report prepared by a CVA has more value in dealing with the Internal Revenue Service and many court jurisdictions than a report prepared by an individual that may not demonstrate equal expertise and experience.

Why choose a CVA?

The CVA professional is qualified to provide business valuation services to:

Potential transactions or situations that necessitate or that could be enhanced by a CVA prepared business valuation include:

Our business valuation services have been used in conjunction with all of the above situations. We have consulted with a variety of individuals that needed to know the value of a business enterprise. Contact John Mitchell, CPA, CVA, CFP®, our Certified Valuation Analyst. He is prepared to assist you with all of your valuation questions and challenges. A printable PDF of Business Valuation services is available here.

Do you have a compiled financial statement for your business? Do you think you need a financial statement but don’t need a full audit?

Compiled financial statements give you timely information to help you make informed decisions, project your income taxes, and monitor operations. Through compilation services, we prepare monthly, quarterly, or annual financial statements. The CPA becomes familiar with the accounting principles and practices common to the client’s industry, and acquires a general understanding of the client’s transactions and how they are recorded.

After compiling the financial statements, the CPA is obliged to read them and consider whether they are appropriate in form and free from material errors. The CPA then issues a report that says, in effect, that the financial statements were compiled, but because they were not audited or reviewed, no opinion is expressed.

Compilation standards permit an accountant to compile financial statements with and without footnote disclosures required by generally accepted accounting principles. This is allowable as long as any omission is clearly indicated in the report. This paragraph lets users know that if the financial statements contained this information, it might affect the user’s conclusions.

A compilation is often sufficient for bankers, bonding companies, donors, and many private companies. However, if a business needs to provide some degree of assurance to outside groups that its financial statements are reliable, it may be necessary to engage a CPA to perform an audit or review.

Financial Statement Preparation in a Compilation Engagement

Financial statements are prepared on a regular basis to give you up-to-date information to make more informed management decisions and monitor operations. (It also ensures fewer questions at tax time and speeds up your tax return preparation.) In addition, financial statements help you analyze, understand and implement ratio analysis to include current position analysis, equity position analysis, and profitability position analysis.

Management Purpose Only

If you don't need compiled financial statements for third party use, you may want to consider financial statements for management's internal use only - where no report is issued. MPO financial statements are limited to members of management with knowledge and understanding. They are intended solely for use of such management and not intended for use by any other party.

Call Trudy Kennedy, CPA, Accounting Team Manager, to set up an appointment with an accounting technician that will assist you in getting your business finances on track. A printable PDF of this section is available here.

Is your estate planned and in good shape?

Estate planning consists of the process of setting up financial matters in order to protect and provide for a person’s family and other beneficiaries in the event of disability or death. An estate plan can help to reduce economic hardship or to enhance a benefit to a charitable institution. The specific elements of a plan depend upon your desires.

Possible goals for an estate plan include:

Tools considered in estate planning:

Our CPAs can help guide you through the estate planning process. Each person’s situation is unique and the coordination of estate tools varies with each estate depending on the goals to be achieved. Often, a single change in form of property ownership can save $240,000 in estate tax for a married couple. Planning with Casey Peterson and Associates, LTD., is very cost efficient.

Contact John Mitchell CPA, CFP®, CVA, Casey Peterson, CPA, AEP (Accredited Estate Planner) Charles Tinant, CFP®, and Dean Heintz, CPA for more information. A printable PDF of Estate Planning services is available here.

Investment Services

Casey Peterson & Associates, LTD’s affiliate, CP Financial Services LLP, can facilitate the delivery of all your financial service needs.

We are engaged with Honkamp Krueger Financial Services (HKFS), 2355 JFK Road, Dubuque, Iowa, to provide investment advisory services and to work with our own Certified Financial Planners in serving your financial needs. HKFS works with 50 CPA firms in several Midwestern states, emphasizing a team approach with the CPA to serve the client. HKFS was founded in 1995 by partners of Honkamp Krueger & Co., a 50 year old CPA firm in Dubuque. The HKFS management team combines over 70 years of financial services experience with several professional designations.

Financial Services

CP Financial Services, working through HKFS, can provide asset management services – we will invest your money for a fee based on the value of your account, no commissions. HKFS/CPFS uses MODERN PORTFOLIO THEORY, which leads to your investment funds being allocated across various sectors of the markets.

Retirement Planning & Funding Services

We look forward to visiting with you about the ways our services may benefit you through astute money management!

Please call Casey Peterson, Kevin Eggebraaten, John Mitchell, Charles Tinant, Sue McCormick, Trudy Kennedy, Michael Dell or Mark Lyons, partners in CP Financial Services LLP, if you have any questions on these services, or if you would like a quote. A printable PDF of Financial Planning & CP Financial services is available here.

Do you proactively identify and manage fraud risks that may affect your company?  

Occupational fraud is becoming a common occurrence in business and should not be ignored. As owner or manager, you should regularly evaluate how fraud could occur in your business. A business or organization that fails to protect itself from fraud should expect to become a victim of it.

Fraud can occur in any organization even with trusted employees.

Three factors are usually present when fraud is committed:

Fraud occurring within your business or organization could put you out of business or damage your reputation so badly that you can no longer succeed. Small businesses suffer the most from occupational fraud, with an average loss of $98,000*. Don’t let fraud jeopardize your family’s and employees' future.

What can a business or organization do to prevent fraud from occurring?

Start by taking a fraud prevention check-up. Some of the items to consider are:

Our Certified Fraud Examiners are trained to detect fraud and help to establish the necessary controls to prevent it. Contact Cheryl Kenitzer, CPA, CFE, Audit Team Manager, to evaluate your business and its vulnerability to fraud. A printable PDF of Fraud examination services is available here.

What is the changing health care environment going to do to your practice management?

Casey Peterson & Associates provides an invaluable service by utilizing our business knowledge when it comes to medical consulting services, including practice management and billing services.  

A health care practice is profit-motivated and must be economically viable if it is to continue in existence. In other respects, however, these practices are unique in that most health care professionals consider patient care their first priority. Consequently, their training is focused on their profession, not on running a business.  

CP & A can provide all the necessary services to keep your business running efficiently so you can take care of priority #1 for many years to come.

Practice Management Services

Billing Services

Collections & followup

If you would like more information on any of these services, please contact Kevin Eggebraaten, CPA. A printable PDF of Health Care services is available here.

Are you running your business or is your business running you?

Business owners are working hard to develop a life and retirement for themselves, but often they lose sight of their goals as the business gains a life of its own. Performance Measurement is the ongoing study of an organization's health. This includes both financial and non-financial issues. The objective is to establish real-time measurements for the purpose of monitoring internal production, customer morale, employee satisfaction, and much more.  

As part of our goal to improve the quality of information you have to make decisions with, there is a need to conduct an analysis of several aspects of your business including:

Our 5 step approach will get your business on the track to success.

 Contact Trudy Kennedy, CPA, Accounting Team Manager, or Kayce Roseth, CPA for more information on how performance measurement services can help your company meet its goals and plan for a successful future. A printable PDF of Performance Measurement services is available here.