Services

With the current federal and state tax environment in a near constant state of flux, discerning the impact of recent and proposed tax hikes is frustrating and confusing for business owners and individuals alike. BPS helps clients separate fact from fiction, and assists in developing meaningful strategies to minimize one’s overall tax burden.

BPS works with corporations, privately held businesses and their owners, wealthy families and individuals on tax preparation, developing federal, state, and local tax planning strategies as well as ensuring compliance with current tax laws. As your trusted advisor, we stay abreast of new developments in tax laws, educating clients on these changes and advising you on ways to use the changes to your advantage rather than detriment.

We provide tax planning strategies on matters such as:

• Acquisitions and divestitures
• Business succession planning
• Estate and gift taxes
• Fringe benefits
• Management compensation packages
• Reorganizations
• Retirement plans
• Tax credits

Our multi-disciplinary tax planning team has exceptional depth, with extensive experience gleaned from some of the largest firms in the nation. Our teammates have national recognition in numerous areas of practice and each person undergoes continuous professional education to always operate at the forefront of the industry and national and state issues.

Have questions about Tax Planning and Compliance services? Contact BPS now.

Audits provide stakeholders with a high level of assurance about the fair presentation of a company’s financial statements. Audits are an effective means to enhance the necessary confidence that shareholders, investors, lenders, or government regulators can place in the financial statements. These groups look to an audit for greater assurance on the financial health of the entity in which they have a vested interest. An audit also serves as a valuable business management tool to help operate your company more effectively.

BPS provides a practical, sound approach to meeting clients’ audit requirements. As trusted advisors, our seasoned Audit/Assurance Group transforms what can be an intrusive event into a positive, insightful experience.

Years of experience have sharpened our knowledge of the operational challenges and opportunities business owners and management face. Each audit is tailored to the client to ensure a smooth, efficient process.

Our approach includes hands-on involvement of BPS senior management; pre-audit planning to identify key issues, clear, on-going communication with the client, and the use of progressive audit tools and processes to ensure a timely, efficient and cost-effective audit.

Our Audit/Assurance capabilities include:

• Accounting and administrative controls
• Agreed upon procedures
• Analyzing operating results
• Assistance with business loans
• Budget preparation and forecasting
• Cash management and planning
• Financial statements compilation and review
• Financial statement audits
• Internal accounting controls review
  • Appraisal of current financial practice effectiveness
  • Recommendation of administrative controls
• Organizing, planning and monitoring business activities
• Risk management evaluation

Have questions about Audit/Assurance services? Contact BPS now.

Even the most established businesses need the perspective of an external business consultant to seek the best course of action when faced with opportunities or unexpected issues. As a trusted advisor, BPS brings a wealth of consulting with clients in multiple industries to the table, providing the insight, objectivity, and confidentiality needed to move forward in a strategic manner.

Our professionals can advise you in areas relating to audit/assurance, tax, financial reporting, information systems and software, mergers and acquisitions, valuations, and other business areas that will help you navigate rapidly changing laws and regulations and an increasingly complex business environment. Having advisors you trust and who provide meaningful information is invaluable. Some examples of how we can assist:

• Assisting with green fielding or acquisition, and identifying which option is most profitable.
• Streamlining your administrative functions.
• Determining the highest performing path forward.
• Preparing family owned businesses for the unexpected, such as the loss of a key family member and/or employee.
• Establishing continuity plans and shareholder agreements.
• Assistance with upgrades or replacements to financial reporting systems.

Change is good for business when it is recognized and planned for with your trusted advisors. We can help you take a practical, well-informed approach to issues and opportunities related to business, finance and tax. Ours is a practical, business-centric approach that works.

Have questions about Business Consulting services? Contact BPS now.

Whether starting a business or adding value to an existing business, having a solid understanding of financial issues, opportunities, processes, and regulatory requirements is essential. As your trusted advisor, BPS has the expertise to successfully guide you through the intricacies of bringing your business to life.

Starting a business requires more than creating a web page –  there are a multitude of issues to consider and address. Failure to do so—or engaging a less than qualified advisor—can lead to lost time, capital and competitive advantage.

BPS provides accounting and business advisory services to the entrepreneurial business community, focusing on business start-ups in biotech, medical, distribution, professional services, technology, and real estate industries – to name a few. We will assist you with developing cost accounting systems, obtaining financing, and implementing strategic management, inventory and cash management programs and merger/acquisition/divestiture strategies. These will provide the rocket fuel you need to increase the value of your business.

While it may be tempting to cut corners, particularly during the onset of a new business, having the professional insight and guidance of BPS is an invaluable investment and will help maximize the potential for success and avoid future problems.

Employee benefit plan audits help protect the assets and the financial integrity of employee benefit plans and ensure the necessary funds will be available to pay retirement, health, and other promised benefits to employees.

Plan audits enable companies with 100 or more eligible employees to meet federal laws requiring a complete and accurate annual return (Form 5500), which must include audited financial statements. Failure to complete an adequate return may result in Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”), Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”), and/or Department of Labor (“DOL”) violations and penalties.

Maintaining the fiduciary integrity of one’s employee benefits plans is critical. Each year, the rules and regulations governing employee benefit plan compliance only continue to increase. In addition to performing audits of employee benefit plan financial statements, BPS provides consulting services on issues related to plan structure and management, giving you the insight to operate your employees’ benefit plan with confidence and remain in compliance.

BPS is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (“AICPA”) Employee Benefit Audit Quality Center (“EBAQC”), which is a national center consisting of CPA firms that demonstrate a commitment to employee benefit plan audit quality. Members of our specialized employee benefit plan practice group attend annual continuing professional education to keep them abreast of current regulatory compliance matters. The EBAQC also provides BPS with best practices, real-time insight into regulatory developments, and other technical resources to enable us to deliver you quality service, allowing us to be your trusted advisor.

As your trusted advisor, our experienced Employee Benefit Plan Group provides you with the following services:

• Audit/Assurance
• Plan Consulting
• Form 5500 Preparation
• Assistance with voluntary compliance filings with the IRS and DOL

Have questions about Employee Benefits Plans? Email Bryan Hudson.

Without effective estate and financial planning, the assets you have worked a lifetime to achieve may be lost to taxes and other expenses. To make sure assets are distributed per your wishes and to minimize the tax burden of your beneficiaries, an estate plan is critical. The BPS Estate Planning group takes a proactive approach to developing and implementing strategies that will help ensure your assets will be preserved and distributed according to your intentions. As your trusted advisor, we can assist you with:

• Setting personal goals and objectives
• Estimating net worth
• Preserving and building wealth
• Establishing a charitable giving plan
• Ensuring adequate retirement income
• Determining insurance needs
• Minimizing estate and other tax liabilities
• Maximizing trust, gifting and planned giving benefits
• Planning efficient transfer of assets
• Monitoring and adjusting your estate plan
• Utilizing an assortment of planning vehicles like family limited partnerships, trusts and charitable entities.

While we want the greatest values of your assets transferred to your beneficiaries in an organized and efficient manner, we also want you to fully enjoy the assets you have acquired during your retirement, and will assist with retirement planning. Additionally, we will provide the guidance necessary to ensure a smooth transition of a family-owned business to the next generation, preserving family harmony and assets. We also advise clients on making the most of philanthropic giving.

Have questions about Estate, Gift & Trust Planning services? Contact BPS now.

Ownership transitions pose great risk to even the strongest organizations. Our trusted advisors help business owners navigate the nuanced decisions related to exit planning, whether through a third-party sale, a migration to second generation owners or even through specialized programs like an ESOP.  Our clients are given the opportunity to focus on their retirement plans with the satisfaction of knowing their legacy is in good hands.

Achieving success and the wealth that often goes with it requires tremendous effort. Protecting one’s wealth from ever-changing tax law, rates and other factors also requires effort and the expertise of an experienced wealth management consultant like BPS.

We represent high-wealth individuals, their families and family-owned businesses, developing strategies intended to not only protect assets, but also preserve family harmony. As your trusted advisor, we recognize that client trust is critical as we deal with the very personal, sensitive and often emotional issues of money, and end-of-life financial plans. Respect for you and your family, your interests, and privacy is paramount as we work together to achieve your wealth management goals.

For many clients, we serve as the “family office,” managing bill payments, and negotiating the sale and purchase of assets. We also serve as the representative, conservator, or trustee for large and small estates.

Our experienced Wealth Management Group provides clients with the following services:

• Charitable Gift Planning
• Estate Planning and Compliance
• Financial Planning
• Retirement Planning
• Tax Planning and Compliance
• Family Office and Household Management Services

Questions about Family Office and Wealth Management? Contact Beth Bauknight.

BPS provides our clients with unique forensic accounting services that consist of both preventive and detective methods related to allegations of fraud, embezzlement, financial reporting (GAAP) misstatements, and non-compliance. Allegations of fraud, non-compliance, or misstatements are hard on any company, and we strive to make the process as smooth as possible specific to your situation through the following services:

• Data processing and analytics
• Financial analytics
• Tracing money and finding assets
• Assisting litigation in quantifying personal or company losses
• Analysis and implementation of internal controls and processes

As your trusted advisor in the forensic realm, we also assist in preventing fraud through presentations on internal controls, trainings on fraud prevention methods, and best practices in the work place in order to educate business owners and employees.

Questions about Forensic Accounting? Contact Tracy Amos.

To successfully navigate a business through turbulent times and protect the economic interests of all parties involved, you need a strong grip on key financial and business issues and an appropriate strategy. BPS has the experience and knowledge to provide companies, shareholders, and legal representatives with the support needed to resolve bankruptcy issues and develop a plan beneficial to all involved parties.

Our financial turnaround capabilities include:

• Conducting forensic accounting of all records
• Determining future viability
• Evaluating current financial condition
• Identifying potential recovery actions
• Negotiating creditor payment moratoriums
• Preparing and analyzing business plans and projections concerning reorganization
• Providing tax planning services
• Serving as court appointed receiver

Our goal is to help position companies for long-term survival and to operate more efficiently in the future. If a client cannot survive, we assist owners and creditors recover from the situation as well as possible.

Have questions about Bankruptcy services? Contact BPS now.

Network and application management has a direct impact on your organization’s ability to maximize long-term profitability. In addition to the Software/Hardware Consulting services above, our firm also provides services designed to prepare your company for the compliance examination process. We understand that each system is uniquely designed and that your organization has a finite amount of resources available. Our IT consulting team works with your organization to create proposals that align with your specific needs, whether it be a gap analysis with limited interaction, a full-scale readiness assessment including process walkthroughs and system development, or anything in between. We focus on providing the most value with the least amount of disruption to your operations.

Our IT Consulting Services include:

• Framework Adoption (Top-Down) – Starting with your current system and controls, we can work with management to determine which framework best suits the current environment in preparation for certification.
• Framework Adoption (Bottom-Up) – Depending on the certification or compliance examination needed (HIPAA, ISO, NIST, SOC, etc.), our incremental change approach facilitates full system modification with a pre-mapped timeline.
• Framework Gap Analysis – Using internal controls and reporting drafts provided by your team, we evaluate your system’s level of alignment with the framework and provide feedback on areas that need strengthening.
• Assurance Readiness Assessment – Working with our IT Assurance team can help to ensure system controls are appropriately designed and operating effectively prior to initiating the certification process. We work with management on any needed remediation.
• Cyber Risk Incident Response – Implementing a rigorous response plan is key to detecting and preventing security incidents. We can assist with developing an incident response plan.
• Cyber Risk Assessment – Are you considering moving a portion of your system to the cloud, or making significant infrastructure changes?
• We can provide a detailed review of 3rd party vendors to assist management with its end decision.

Legal matters, even small ones, can be extremely disruptive and costly, inhibiting a company’s ability to conduct business and an individual’s ability to move forward in life. We help clients and their legal counsel prepare for financial and economic aspects of trials and settlement proceedings.

Clients turn to BPS for expert litigation and forensic accounting support relating to tax and fraud issues and other business and personal matters, such as divorce or contested wills. We leverage experience, resources and staff within the firm to meet the unique needs of the client and the case. We have a reputation for providing exceptional expert witness testimony on the stand. Our litigation services include:

• Assisting legal counsel in identifying relevant facts and key issues
• Expert witness reports and expert testimony
• Assisting with establishing case strategies
• Forensic accounting
• Participating in court appearances and depositions

We have provided support to a variety of clients such as:

• Plaintiffs and defendants in state Certificate of Need (CON) or non-applicability cases
• Companies involved in minority shareholder disputes
• Quantifying the extent of employee fraud to assist in prosecution
• Companies involved in patent infringement cases
• Parties involved in contract disputes
• Divorce, trust and estate proceedings

Our extensive knowledge of accounting/assurance, tax issues, information technology, and data extraction capabilities allows us to view a legal matter from many different perspectives, which can lead to new and creative litigation strategies, critical evidential information gathering and support.

Have questions about Litigation Support services? Contact BPS now.

Small businesses have many of the same accounting and bookkeeping needs of larger companies, but often don’t have the resources for full-time staff. As the world of “virtual companies” and small businesses continues to expand, the need for experienced back office support is also growing.

BPS has a dedicated business solutions group that provides full-service accounting and bookkeeping services to clients ranging from sole proprietors to professional service companies to small businesses. As your trusted advisor, we often serve as the accounting department, handling all necessary tasks with accuracy and responsiveness. This enables clients to focus on growing and managing the business with confidence. Our business solutions group also is available for special projects such as filling a gap in staffing. Our services are also competitively priced and include:

• Maintaining and updating the Company’s general ledger, including all aspects of the revenue/deposit and expense/disbursement cycle
• Managing noncash journal entries for items such as depreciation, amortization and grossing up payroll
• Maintaining invoices and other supporting documentation to maintain the general ledger
• Reconciling cash accounts
• Preparing and filing monthly sales tax returns

BPS also offers training on accounting programs such as:

• Sage 100
• Sage Business Works
• Quickbooks

Have questions about our Business Solutions Group or specific needs in computer hardware & software consulting services? Contact BPS now.

As your business grows so does your compliance needs in the rapidly changing state and local tax environment. State and local tax (SALT) is an often overlooked but costly area – that’s why the BPS SALT team is here to help you navigate complex income and sales tax requirements of the states and localities in which you operate your business.

The professionals at BPS will consult with partnerships, LLCs, corporations and their owners to formulate a strategy to minimize your tax burden.

Our experienced staff can provide you with the following services:

• Nexus studies (sale and income tax)
• Property tax for owner managed businesses
• Property tax for regulated industries such as telecommunications
• Sales tax filings and compliance
• Sales tax exemptions

Have questions about SALT services? Contact BPS now.

As technology continues to integrate with operations across all industries, organizations and their customers require peace of mind now more than ever over the security of their data. A company’s ability to provide an assurance report on framework compliance is an integral step in the customer contract negotiation process. Regardless of the specific framework your valued customer is seeking assurance on, our IT team delivers.

Our IT Assurance Services include:

• Systems and Organizational Controls (SOC) Examinations:
  • SOC 1* – Management tailored compliance over
    • financial processes
    • claims management
    • collection systems
    • third-party administration
  • SOC 2* – AICPA designed framework compliance over
    • Security
    • Availability
    • Confidentiality
    • Processing Integrity
    • Privacy
  • SOC 3 Examinations – Public facing (abbreviated) SOC 2 for marketing
• Compliance examinations over other frameworks such as:
  • HIPAA
  • HiTrust
  • ISO
  • NIST
  • SOC for Cybersecurity – Assurance over your system’s risk assessment program

* SOC 1 and SOC 2 Examinations are either Type I or Type II.

Type I examinations report on an organization’s controls at a specific point in time. They are designed to facilitate a user entity’s risk assessment process.

Type II examinations report on the operating effectiveness of internal controls for a period. They are designed to replace the need for external audit procedures.

Questions about SOC? Contact Chris Stormer.

It is an employees’ market. Economists project a continued plateau in the size of our nation’s workforce. It is critical that owners and decision makers attract and retain talent that is capable of executing the organization’s vision.  Our trusted advisors have assisted clients in structuring executive compensation plans, employee benefit benchmarking studies and other consulting services with the goal of retaining top talent.

Have questions about Talent Retention Strategies services? Contact BPS now.

Businesses at any stage of maturity benefit from having the perspective of an external business consultant when presented with opportunities and unexpected issues. As a trusted advisor, the BPS team of accounting, tax and transaction advisory professionals provide expert guidance for all aspects of your transaction needs, including buy-side and sell-side due diligence support and quality of earnings assessments.

Whether working for the buyer or the seller, we work for your team to understand the purpose of a proposed transaction, mitigate risks and enhance the rewards of the deal.

If you have questions about our Transaction Advisory Services or specific needs in this important area of your business, contact BPS now.