In the past 50 years, we’ve experienced one of the greatest evolutions in the payment industry: the credit card. Enabling people to make purchases and send or receive money digitally, the credit card minimized society’s use of cash and checks. For accountants, this introduced a new way businesses are paid and how they pay their …
Category Archives: Finance
31
Aug
Aug
For many companies, a jump to international sales can open up exciting growth opportunities. But it can also be much trickier to balance risks and rewards in foreign markets compared to domestic markets. Credit risks in payments are a case in point. This blog post examines the risks of typical international payment structures as well …
27
Jul
Jul
As the Consumer Protection Agency places ever increasing restrictions on the payday loan industry aimed at individual consumers, the industry has been moving its focus to small and mid-sized distressed businesses. Revitalization Partners recently spoke with a company that is a supplier to large aerospace companies that, in addition to a standard business bank loan, …
28
Jun
Jun
Cash preservation is typically a top of mind concern for any business. Having provided CFO consulting for many start-ups and growing businesses, I’ve seen this be particularly important. In many cases, a course of action has a different result from a cash flow perspective than a profit perspective. A decision may make sense from a …
23
Jun
Jun
The world of finance and valuation, in particular, can be intimidating. Whether it’s the valuation of common stock for your personal portfolio or the valuation of a mid-market company with diversified operations generating $50 million in revenue, each analysis has one common goal: turn inputs into outputs. Period. Nothing more. Nothing less. The rise of …
09
May
May
Following the last financial crisis, the focus on the safety and soundness of banks was good for the financial system. New bank liquidity and capital policies, among other things, strengthened a weakened system. The banking system today is stronger, with more assets and better loan underwriting standards. Despite good intentions, however, these rules, that were …
02
May
May
Friday afternoons are always days that I tend to wax philosophic. This Friday’s musings got kicked off by a post that a good friend shared with me about GAFAnomics, basically a shrine to Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon as pillars for the “new economy”. Not to take anything away from the success of these companies, but I have heard this song and …
24
Apr
Apr
Polls over the years in organizations as well as government show that the majority of people do not particularly trust those who lead. Last year, a Forbes article provided data telling us that there are very low levels of employee engagement in the US and worldwide. Executive tenure has been dropping for years (although the …
In the restructuring business, many of our assignments come through referrals. During 2015 we were able to assist a number of companies because a trusted advisor to the CEO or owner suggested that they might need help. However, sometimes that suggestion comes too late or the CEO/owner decides that they can fix their problem without assistance. As …
22
Dec
Dec
It’s year-end. You’ve likely been focused on critical Q4 initiatives, such as completing financial projects, providing restructuring solutions or developing budgets. For many CFOs, you’ve likely spent the past few months working on the 2016 budget, so it’s time to get back to business. While you were focused on budgets, reviews and projections, your employees …