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Valuations can help business owners plan for the future
If someone was to suggest that you should have your business appraised, you might wonder whether the person was subtly suggesting that you retire and sell the company. Seriously though, a valuation can serve many purposes other than preparing your business for sale so you can head to the beach. Think of it as a checkup…
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What businesses can expect from a DOL benefits plan audit
All but the smallest businesses today are generally expected to offer employees “big picture” benefits such as health insurance and a retirement plan. Among the risks of doing so is that many popular plan types must comply with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA). That means lots of rules and much documentation. No matter…
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Cost containment: An important health care benefits objective for businesses
As the Fed continues to do battle with inflation, and with fears of a recession not quite going away, companies have been keeping a close eye on the costs of their health insurance and pharmacy coverage. If you’re facing higher costs for health care benefits this year, it probably doesn’t come as a big surprise.…
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Look carefully at three critical factors of succession planning
The day-to-day demands of running a business can make it difficult to think about the future. And by “future,” we’re not necessarily talking about how your tax liability will look at year-end or how you might grow the bottom line over the next five years. We’re referring to the future in which you no longer…
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Reviewing and adjusting your marketing strategy
As summer slips away and fall shuffles forth, business owners and their leadership teams might want to take a look at the overall marketing strategy they’ve pursued this year. How’s yours doing? It may not be entirely too late to make some adjustments to ensure your sales numbers wind up where you want them. What success…
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Consider adverse media screening to vet vendors, customers and others
Whether you know it or not, if your business has ever applied for a commercial loan, you’ve likely been subject to “adverse media screening.” Under this commonly used practice, a prospective borrower is “screened against” various media sources to determine whether the person or entity has been a party to any suspicious, unethical or illegal…
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Should your business add a PTO buying feature to its cafeteria plan?
With the pandemic behind us and a red-hot summer in full swing, many of your company’s employees may be finally rediscovering the uninhibited joys of vacation. Your workers might be having so much fun, in fact, that they might highly value being able to buy even more paid time off (PTO) as an employee benefit.…
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5 tips for more easily obtaining cyberinsurance
Every business should dedicate time and resources to cybersecurity. Hackers are out there, in many cases far across the globe, and they’re on the prowl for vulnerable companies. These criminals typically strike at random — doing damage to not only a business’s ability to operate, but also its reputation. One way to protect yourself, at…
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Avoid succession drama with a buy-sell agreement
Recently, the critically acclaimed television show “Succession” aired its final episode. If the series accomplished anything, it was depicting the chaos and uncertainty that can take place if a long-time business owner fails to establish a clearly written and communicated succession plan. While there are many aspects to succession planning, one way to put some clear…
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Why businesses may want to consider ESG in strategic planning
When engaging in strategic planning, business owners and their leadership teams must consider various factors. These commonly include the state of your industry, the national and local economies, the company’s financial position and cash flow, and opportunities in the marketplace. However, in today’s world, where transparency is everything, another factor that may be important for…
