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It has been an exciting year for the Partnership and for me.   This month I am celebrating my one year anniversary as a Partner with B2B CFO^®.   I wanted to share some of the successes of my clients.  In addition to these achievements, I have had the opportunity to meet some great people in the DFW area and expand my network.  It truly has been a great year.

During the last year I have been able to help 12 companies achieve the following results:

·         Three of my clients closed a combined $21 million of loans with various banks.  Of that amount, $20 million was in term debt with quarterly principle payments extending to 19 years.  

·         A fourth client was able to increase its net worth from a negative at the end of 2009 to a positive equity position of $4 million at the end of May, 2010.  

·         Last year a fifth client had lost money every month in the second half of 2009.  That company has now enjoyed monthly profitability every month in 2010.

·         All of my clients now use a both a short and long term cash forecast.  These tools help identify potential problems with their bank covenants and future cash availability. 

·         Two of my client's Controllers have improved their awareness and effectiveness in their respective positions.  In both cases, the Controller's have improved their relationships with the business owner who in turn could focus on growing their companies.

 

Let me know how I can help you, your business, and your people.

Chris has been instrumental in helping me organize, simplify, and streamline departmental processes while gaining a more thorough understanding of accounting principles. Thanks Chris! 

Jeannette Aguilar

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How A Business Owner Can Leverage New Financial And Other Administrative Initiatives - May 5, 2010

Posted by: Christopher L. James in Articles

Significant state and federal legislative changes in 2009-2010 present opportunities and challenges for small-medium sized businesses.  While the new healthcare reform has been given a lot of press, we cannot forget about the increases in taxes that will be facing businesses as well.  This article will discuss best practices and strategies to offset the effects of the landmark legislation.

Before we analyze specific tools that can be used to offset health insurance costs, we must establish the basics.   A question that every business owner must ask him/herself first is: “Are you in control of your cash flow or is it controlling you?” 

All businesses should have tools in place to understand their cash position.  Examples of these tools are cash flow forecasting, gross profit optimization and a Balanced Scorecard. These basic tools must be in place in order to have their cash flow under control and understood.

Creating and updating a cash forecast is vital for an organization.  A good cash forecast estimates not only the cash generated from sales less expenses (an income statement), but also the amount of working capital needed to support operations.  This forecast will determine loan covenant compliance and how much cash is needed to meet obligations like federal taxes.

Optimizing a company’s gross profit helps a company avoid problems with prices that are too low and direct costs that are too high.  In addition, a company must have a margin comparable to their industry in order have adequate margins to pay for fixed costs.  When a company is generating adequate sales but gross profit margins are low, it signals an issue with a low selling price or higher cost than other business peers.  A lack of understanding often leads to decisions that only worsen the company’s position, such as attempting to increase sales via lower prices, leading to even smaller gross profit margins.

A Balanced Scorecard is about creating a business strategy where all your moves fit together in a simple to understand, cause-and-effect chain of events.  It's also about setting goals and measuring performance, and about how you communicate to keep everyone on your team up-to-date and give them a clear line of sight from their own actions to the company's end result.  Most importantly it's about taking your strategy and turning it into do-able action that everybody understands and can be held accountable for.

Healthcare legislation will have a huge impact for business owners.  Two programs that can help reduce costs are Professional Employer Organizations (PEO) and Direct health companies.

A PEO as a single source provider of integrated services which enable business owners to cost-effectively outsource the management of human resources, employee benefits, payroll and workers’ compensation and other strategic services, such as, recruiting, risk/safety management, and training and development. It does this by hiring for the client company thus becoming their employer of record for tax purposes and insurance purposes. It then leases them back under contract to the original employer. This p....

Read more...

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Testimonial - Moll Industries - Apr 10, 2010

Posted by: Christopher L. James in Testimonials

When first arriving at Moll Industries Chris was the CFO, he not only was a team player and had brought the company through the bankruptcy he was instrumental in my efforts as the VP of Sales & Marketing of a bankrupted company to assist in every way to over come this major obstetrical. I could always depend on Chris to help in anyway possible.

Joe Pack
Past President of Moll Industries

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Testimonial - Womack Machine Supply - Apr 10, 2010

Posted by: Christopher L. James in Testimonials

As our CFO, Chris brought us up-to-date and best practices with cash management, financing, and reporting. As a member of the Executive Leadership Team Chris was always open-minded and eagerly creative. As a person, he is honest and has high integrity.

Lonnie Smith
VP of Supplier Developement and Past President

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Testimonial - Diamond K - Apr 5, 2010

Posted by: Christopher L. James in Testimonials

Diamond K and most especially I, have not had what I have felt a competent CFO in the 29 years I have been here.
Chris coming on board and helping has been more than I could have asked for.  Not only has he brought stability to our accounting systems, he has gone above and beyond the call of duty with personnel and administrative issue. I highly recommend his services.

Tommy King
President

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Testimonial - Fred Lake Company - Apr 5, 2010

Posted by: Christopher L. James in Testimonials

Chris compliments my style of leadership and is very careful not to overstep his role.  He tells me what I need to hear, when I need to hear it.  I am learning to depend on him and value his input on critical business decisions.  I would definitely recommend him to any business owner that is feeling trapped by cash flow constraints and concern over current bank relationships.  Chris is a pro and knows how to take on some of that pressure so that the business owner can focus on running and growing the business.
David Atwell
Fred Lake Company

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Banking And Lending Relationships 1019 - Mar 20, 2010

Posted by: Christopher L. James in Articles

Strong banking and lending relationships are key to a well-financed business. Well financed businesses can operate much more efficiently than cash strapped firms and can take better advantage of market opportunities when they arise. Owners, of businesses that are well financed, are able to sleep much better at night than those who struggle with cash. Since banks are the single largest source of financing (cash) for business, having strong banking relationships is paramount to having a well- financed business.

Some companies, especially startups and those with little equity may have difficulty borrowing from banks. There are times when other non-bank lenders can provide better financing options than banks. Therefore, having strong relationships with other lenders such as asset based lenders, lessors, private investors and investment bankers can be very important to business success.

Strong banking and lending relationships are based on trust and good communications between the banker (lender) and the borrower. Providing lenders with accurate and timely financial statements, good cash flow and income projections, and keeping them informed about major business decisions and activities will go a long way in developing trust and cementing a strong relationship. Bankers/lenders will provide better financing for relationship-based borrowers who keep them well informed about good as well as bad news in the business. Businesses that have strong financial management and institute good financial procedures and controls will also be looked on favorably by bankers and other lenders.

B2B CFO® advisors, on average, have worked and negotiated with lenders for over 25 years and have strong relationships with many banks and alternative financing sources. They understand which banks and other lenders will serve your company the best, based on your industry and company profile. B2B CFO's will help you put together the accurate and timely financial statements and pro-forma cash and financial projections that will help you secure a great financing package for your business. In addition, your B2B CFO® advisor will help you determine the most appropriate mix and terms of financing to best meet your companies needs, whether it be short term lines of credit, long term debt, leases, or working with you and investment bankers to secure equity capital.

Your B2B CFO® advisor will help you make better business decisions by helping you analyze your business from a financial standpoint and by implementing a management reporting system that gives you the information you need to make better decisions. This will help you increase profitability and drive your firm's growth, strengthening your company and its banking and lending relationships.

 Working with banks and lenders can take substantial time and effort. Your B2B CFO® advisor can take care of much of the work for you, allowing you to spend your time leading and improving the business and increasing sales. Your banker/lender will also feel a sense of security knowing that you have a top financial professional helping you with your financial management and will reward your company with a stronger and more attractive financing arrangement.

In summary, B2B CFO® can help you secure a better banking/lending relationship, which will ensure your firm is well financed, has the most competitive rates and terms, and will free you up to concentrate your time on growing the business. As an additional benefit, you will be able to sleep better at night!

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Stories From The Front Lines - Feb 13, 2010

Posted by: Christopher L. James in Articles

 

This week (February 2010), a very good client of mine received a letter of commitment letter from a bank for an eight figure term loan which permits a 19 year amortization (on equipment!).  Another client of mine, for the first time, is seeing what their cash flow is predicted to do over the course of the next thirteen weeks.  A third client is enjoying his first month of profitability in five months.  

I was asked how I helped accomplish these successes and I thought I would share my reply.

Besides the practical experience I have gained in almost 30 years there are some qualities and beliefs I have.  They are:

1.    Have PASSION for your clients.  Put your heart into  an owner's business and provide them with your best.

 

2.    Provide VALUE for my clients far beyond the money they have paid me.  One of the most gratifying portions of my "job" is seeing smiles on my client's faces as a result of what I provide them.

 

3.    LISTEN to their needs.  The good Lord gave us two ears and one mouth.  Use what you have the most of.

 

4.    Have a dogged determination to do the little things that others won't or can't do.  Ron Willingham, author of Integrity Selling has some great examples of this in his book.

 

5.    I am part of the largest CFO Services firm in the world who has resources that others do not have.  Here are a few examples:

 

a.    We have a combined 4,213 years of experience.

b.Read more...

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What We Are And What We Are Not - Nov 23, 2009

Posted by: Christopher L. James in Articles

As a Partner with B2B CFO® I am an "as needed" CFO.  We are here when you need us and when we are here we will give you 100% of our efforts.

What we are not is a Part Time CFO, Fractional CFO, or an Interim CFO.   Those terms indicate I will only help you part of my time, you can divide me up, or I will be here for a project then I am gone.  This is not who we are.

I had a phone conversation with one of my clients a short time ago on a Saturday.  He needed me and he called.  I gave him the input he needed and helped him in his situation.  I was there when he needed me.

 

Honesty is doing the right thing.  Integrity is doing the right thing when no one is watching.

 

 

 

 

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A Word About Fraud - Nov 23, 2009

Posted by: Christopher L. James in Articles

In recent weeks it has come to my attention that many businesses are suffering due to fraudulent business practices.  Fraud can involve employee theft, misuse of expense accounts, and unauthorized use of funds.

Recently, I have consulted with two businesses who are suffering from the effects of fraud.  Both companies lost well over one million dollars due to the fraudulent business practices of individuals within the organization.  The fraud involved trusted employees who took advantage of weak internal controls.  Unfortunately these incidents occurred before I became involved with the company as my skills could have helped in these situations.

Fraud caused extreme trauma in these companies.  One company had to lay off a substantial portion of the workforce and the other continues to struggle with cash flow, two years after the crime was committed.

Companies who have not been victimized by fraud can reduce the likelihood of its occurrence.  With the help of some of my colleagues I have developed a list of 20 questions to determine if a business is at risk.  If there are warning signs we can help install the necessary internal controls to prevent fraud from destroying your business.

Contact me to discuss how I can help you.  We at B2B CFO® have over 3,400 years of cumulative knowledge to assist businesses in detecting and preventing employee theft and fraud.