With the financial complexity of many businesses, in fiercely competitive environments, we can never be completely confident about the health of our business. Fortunately, help is at hand in the form of business, financial and management expertise to recognize, analyze and cure ailing fiscal conditions.
 
According to William R. Legier, senior managing partner of Legier & Materne, apac, Consultants and CPAs, the key to maintaining a healthy business lies in strategic planning that maximizes profits while eliminating predictable unnecessary risks.
 
"The most important priority is to quantify the financial elements of the business and to anticipate, eliminate or avoid problems wherever possible. We can't predict the interest rate or the economy next year, but we can tell clients how much investment should be necessary to achieve target volumes of sales and profits."
 
"There are many dynamic factors that can change business' direction at a moment's notice, and we have developed a comprehensive planning process that helps take unnecessary guesswork out of running a business," said Legier.
 
Legier & Materne, apac, has developed sophisticated, computerized business planning models that reflect the current status of a business versus its financial condition and profitability which can exist in the future given various assumptions.

"Fiscal Checklist"

We go into a business and, depending on its size, spend four to eight hours or as much as several days going through an exhaustive series of questions and analysis that we have specially developed to diagnose areas within a business for financial treatment. The answers to these questions form a diagnostic roadmap. They enable us to evaluate the effectiveness of the company's operations and make recommendations for improvements so it can achieve its maximum profitability," said Legier.
 
The comprehensive checkup by Legier & Materne, apac, looks deeply into your accounting, marketing and operational methods and procedures. It evaluates the company's accounts receivable, inventory, profit margins and liquidity levels to determine if your company is realistically within the bounds of its industry.
 
"We recognize the symptoms, identify the sources of problems, develop the treatment and cure the problem. With the 'Fiscal Checkup'(SM), our process is really no different than going to a doctor," said Legier.

Benefits For All Companies

Legier said that while ailing businesses may find the most startling results from the Firm's examination, all companies can benefit from the checklist as a measurement tool. "We'll tell them if they are effectively using all available techniques and resources or suggest improvements."
 
"Bankers and investors have found these services essential in providing a comfort level on their borrowers or investments. Our work may also convince them that the company has sound operating practices that ensure it against the unnecessary or avoidable crises. We help take the unpredictability out of the process to the greatest extent possible," said Legier.
 
How often should a company have a "Fiscal Checkup?"(SM) Legier says it varies with the type of company and the extent and outcome of the previous exam. But taking action is important. "As an owner, I would certainly want to know my fiscal condition in all respects at all times and look for improvements wherever I can achieve them," he said.

Office Automation Key Ingredient

With rapidly improving technology available in the market today, many companies find themselves with hardware and software that spans generations. This lack of the latest in automation systems can lead to major inefficiencies and unnecessary profit degradation.
 
Legier & Materne will evaluate existing systems and redesign or begin new ones from scratch. "We create them where they don't exist and evaluate them where they do," he said. "We'll provide recommendations on the hardware and software best suited for the type of business and develop a plan for installation, implementation and perhaps most importantly the training of the users."
 
In addition, the firm continually monitors the progress of its clients' automation environments to ensure the continued successful attainment of client objectives. "Our systems provide timely and accurate information that ensures management's ability to operate a business with maximum efficiency and profitability," said Legier.
 
Legier is quick to point to his own firm's keys to success. "We recruit the brightest of the bright, often at the top of their classes, including those well trained in a "Big 5" environment. Then we educate and indoctrinate them with our critical client service success factors. Our own growth as a firm continues because we work from a mission statement that emphasizes these critical success factors; quality professional services delivered in a timely and friendly, personable way. We develop a cordial supportive relationship with our clients, no matter how large or small, to go along with our experience, competence and technical sophistication," he said.
 
Legier's background is not only as a CPA with "Big 5" international firm experience but he has successfully managed multimillion dollar companies. The firm's clients range from local businesses to large multinational publicly traded corporations.