Business Advisory Services At Stephen Shessel CA, we pride ourselves on being an integral part of your business. We firmly believe that our success is measured by your success. Our professional team members undertake a high level of internal and external professional development, which ensures that they are up to date and fully informed in their respective fields of industry specialization. We believe that business development and growth is based on sound financial advice, industry knowledge and understanding of your business environment and I advise on the basis of all three. Consequently, we will be able to advise you on how to capitalize on new opportunities and your strengths, as well as how to manage threats and perceived weaknesses to your business. We offer experienced business management through various advisory services. Profit Improvement Do the profits you make reflect the effort you put in to your business? Perhaps your business is growing rapidly, and so is your workload, but your profits may not be keeping pace. Alternatively your business growth may be gradual, but you have yet to maximize your profit potential. That's where we come in. We specialize in Profit Improvement for businesses of all sizes. We can help you: * Review where you are now * Benchmark you against your peers * Suggest where and how to make improvements * Develop implementation strategies with you * Help you build an action plan A chartered accountant has the professional experience to examine your business ideas and evaluate profit potential. He/she can also help you work on break-even analysis, business ratios, budgets, etc.., which can be used to set realistic financial targets. You will then be able to plan ahead and compare forecast figures with actual results. No organization has the luxury of standing still. We believe that the ideal is to be in a constant state of performance improvement - reduce the time it takes to serve clients, reduce overhead costs, improve resources and asset utilization, build better partnerships with suppliers, regulators and other agencies. Whatever performance you need to improve, we can help. Product and Pricing Strategies Pricing has far reaching effects beyond the cost of the product. Pricing is just as much a positioning statement as a definition of the cost to buy. Pricing defines the entry threshold: who your buyers are and their sensitivities, which competitors you will encounter, who you will be negotiating with and what the customer's expectations will be? The most important thing in developing any marketing strategy, including pricing strategy, is to understand as much as possible about current and potential customers. The more you know about their motivations, sensitivities, needs, and their own customers, the more likely you will be to maximize both the effectiveness of your product as well as your own revenue stream. Asset Protection Services We can assist you in attempting to shelter your home, auto, savings and everything you own from lawsuits and lawyers. We can help you avoid bankruptcy and still keep all the wealth you've accumulated, stop creditors from finding your assets and help protect your business in a variety of ways including: *Protecting your money in offshore havens safely and legally *Shielding your wealth from nursing home and catastrophic illness costs *Designing an estate plan your creditors can't touch *Reduce or cancel costly liability and malpractice insurance and avoid lawsuits *Negotiate settlements in a manner that protects your interests *Protect you from business debts, personal guarantees and taxes Business Purchase and Sale We have the experience and knowledge to help and assit you with a valuation of your company. Our business valuation services can not only assist in determining the real value of a company, but also serve as a management and planning tool. Prior to the purchase of any business it is strongly recommended that a review be made of its trading history, that the purchaser give proper consideration as to what entity they should trade under, and that the purchaser be familiar with their legal and tax obligations, as a result of trading. We can assist in these matters. We can also oversee the sale process. As well, we can assist with the steps preparatory to a sale to ensure that a maximum return can be achieved. Our business valuation services include: * Business acquisitions or divestures * Buy/sell agreements * Capital expenditures * High value/low return assets * Employee stock option plans (ESOP) * Determine intangible assets such as existing customers, goodwill, and company private     possessions * Financial planning * Estate planning Negotiation Assistance and Facilitation Independent, professional negotiators can usually produce better results for some, if not all parties, in important negotiations. Negotiators can be engaged by individuals or by groups. They can also be appointed as independent neutrals, charged with the task of facilitating the entire negotiation. We use tried and tested best practice negotiations and problem-solving techniques to provide coaching, preparation, presentation and de-briefing assistance for all forms of commercial, matrimonial, workplace and other critical negotiations. We work with parties and advisers to: * Identify and prioritize their objectives and interests * Reality check and prioritize their needs * Diagnose the other parties' objectives, interests and needs * Gather, generate and/or analyze critical background and supporting information * Evaluate the potential impact of macro and micro issues * Develop negotiation strategies, including options and alternatives * Train, coach and prepare client teams for the negotiation * Assist the negotiation process, including active or passive participation in meetings * Evaluate the progress, status and outcomes of negotiations and facilitate prompt strategic     and tactical modifications to planned approaches * Help guide the negotiation to a satisfactory outcome * Document the negotiation progress and outcomes including, if required, liaison with Boards,     stakeholders, lawyers and other professional advisers * De-brief client negotiating teams to ensure their accurate appreciation of the process and to     maximize their learning experience and skills transfer Clients can expect to gain many times the cost of this service through the improved quality and outcomes of the final deal. Clients also enjoy reduced stress knowing they can rely on the support of an experienced, professional negotiator who will stay with them all the way. Arbitration & Mediation Services However unpleasant, conflicts can be a natural consequence of doing business. Our arbitration and mediation services are an alternative to the costly and time-consuming process of litigation. They are designed to help you resolve business disputes with minimal disruption. While these approaches are both effective at resolving disputes, they are quite different in nature. Mediation is a kind of 'negotiation assistance' technique. When two negotiating parties reach a deadlock, a third party - a mediator - is introduced, who takes over the management of the negotiations. The goal of mediation is to help the parties reach a fair and mutually-acceptable settlement. Arbitration, on the other hand, is more of a 'judicial' procedure, where an independent and impartial person is selected and asked to pass judgment. We provide arbitration and mediation services in shareholder and partnership disputes, commercial contracts, labour law and employment problems, family/divorce and real estate matters, franchising, construction and architectural questions, and international disputes. Members of our firm are involved with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants Interest Groups for Business Advisory Services and Family-Owned Enterprises. Through our involvement with these groups, we are continually apprised of current issues affecting owner-managed businesses. Count on us for your business advisory needs.