We offer various business-fortifying services on a monthly or quarterly basis—the choice is yours.
Select a service to learn more:
Monthly or Quarterly Services:
- Bank Reconciliation
- Financial Statement Generation
- General Ledger Maintenance
- Part-Time CFO / Scheduled Consultation
Other Services:
Bank Reconciliation
We will ensure that your bank and credit card account balances are up to date, so you are assured of your liquidity measures, and understand your ability to satisfy short term obligations as they become due, as well as being able to determine your company’s creditworthiness. We do so by ensuring that all your deposits and disbursements are accounted for and recorded in a timely manner, and all questionable items are researched, identified, and thoroughly investigated to prevent embezzlement of funds and unjustified/excessive charges. You will have time sensitive data that is necessary to work with banks and credit card companies, which allows you to shift the risks for all unauthorized items presented and paid to those companies.
Financial Statements
We make it simple for you as you will be provided with Financial Statements, namely Balance Sheets and Income Statements (Profit and Loss Statement) which are the primary means of communicating financial information to external parties. You Balance Sheet will provide a snapshot of all your assets, liabilities, and equity (the resource and financing structure of your entity) and their relationships at the time the statements are generated. Your liquidity, financial flexibility, profitability, and risk are all here in this document for your viewing. Your Income Statement will emphasize what your company received or expect to receive based on what your expenses (sacrifices) were in relation to your central operations. We show you how your equity changed during specific periods.
General Ledger Maintenance
The integrity of your general ledger is of paramount importance since it is the core of your company’s financial record, through which every transaction flows. If there is a problem with your general ledger, your books are thrown off and so is your peace of mind. Having us provide a review of your general ledger will provide you with peace of mind as we hunt down discrepancies and suggest the adjustments necessary to straighten up your books. Timing is everything and you don’t want to be denied a contract because you did not have accurate financials to present for a bid or other revenue generating opportunity.
Part Time CFO Services
If you are a growing business, you will get to a point where you need professional financial advice but are not yet able to afford a full-time CFO / Controller. Do not worry – we have the perfect solution for you as our Part-Time CFO Service will provide you with a professional financial manager to work with and help guide your business to success without paying $75K to 110K on an annual basis. For a fraction of that cost this is what you will receive from us:
- Established Internal controls to ensure that the right people are in the right position performing the right duties to reduce the occurrence of theft and increase profits.
- Budget preparation and monthly analysis and variance reports to explain the deviations from the budgets.
- Improved decision-making capabilities from clearly seeing the hard and true numbers of your business.
- Scheduled meetings to help you understand the financial aspect of your business, so you have less surprises and more control over revenue and expense items.
- An available sounding board to help with the tough business decisions and to help clarify your business plans.
- Training and managing your accounting staff to ensure team work efficiency and cohesiveness when interacting with other departments.
- Trend analysis, tax saving strategies, and profitability analysis by service or product lines.
- Analysis of recurring annual charges.
- Assistance in negotiations with bankers, attorneys, vendors, and insurance agents, etc.
- Help in evaluating long range plans and defining goals and objectives.
Scheduled Consultation
A well-rounded business commands well-rounded advice irrespective or how large or small the entity. We do not despise small beginnings and we consult with small businesses to ensure continued growth. When a child is not growing it becomes a concern and a visit to the doctor is scheduled. When a plant is not growing, it is pruned, watered, fertilized – Flora Consultation. If a business is stunted in its growth, a consultation with a financial professional should be scheduled that will help propel that business to the next level.
1. Compilation
These are the lowest level of assurance, and are usually required by banks as part of lending covenants and show the lenders that you have an association with a CPA. During compilation engagements the information is neither reviewed nor audited and is presented based on “Management Representation”. As such, we express no opinion or assurance on the statements. Analytical procedures or inquiries of management are not required. As such we will not express an opinion, conclusion or provide assurance on the information.
2. Review
Provides Limited Assurance. They are less extensive than audits but more involved than a compilation. It is a good middle ground that provides the advantages of a CPA’s technical expertise, without the work and expense of an audit. Overall, the review process involves:
- Review and inquiries on financials.
- Making inquiries related to the accounting practices and principles used by the business; and
- Performing analytical procedures to understand current-year and prior-year balances, or current-year balances outside the CPA’s expectations.
To know where to look for potential accounting errors, the CPA needs to have enough information about your company and understand your industry and its accounting principles. You need to gather all documents requested in advance by the CPA, including your:
- Trial balance.
- Bank reconciliations; and
- Accrual schedules, deferred revenue and more.
A review does not require us to study and evaluate your company’s internal controls or verify data with third parties, nor does it require a physical inspection of assets. Rather, a review report expresses limited assurances and the reviewed financial statements must include all required footnotes and other disclosures.
3. Audits
The highest level of assurance. This type of engagement provides the highest level of assurance. It is extremely detailed in scope, requires full co-operation of management, review of internal controls, and testing of selected transactions in order to issue a report on whether the financial statement are fairly stated and free of material misstatement. In an audit, a CPA is required to obtain evidence through inquiry with appropriate personnel, physical inspection, verification, and substantive testing procedures. A CPA or auditor will also examine supporting or source documents, send third-party confirmations to confirm the balances and legal matters, and perform analytical and other procedures. Auditors want to be sure your financial statements are free from material error or fraud. Audits are generally required if you are:
- Planning a major financing.
- Looking for extended credit from major suppliers.
- Raising equity.
- Planning to sell a business.
- Expecting your company to have a public offering in the future; or
- Expecting your company will be funded by the federal or state governments.
All public companies are required to have annual audits but not-for-profit agencies and other organizations receiving government grants must also undergo annual audits.
Your understanding of each report and its unique strength and weaknesses will help you choose the most appropriate one for you.
Call us today if you would like to know more about our assurance services.
Cash Flow Management
Small business whose management think small – remain small. Small business become large when management begins to think big. The choice is yours and our Cash Management Program will help get you on the road to expansion, unless you want to be numbered among the small business – that acorn that never got to be a giant oak tree. Your entity’s Cash Out should never exceed Cash In, as one cash crisis could mean the end of your business if you are not able to turn the situation around in a timely manner. Proper management of your cash flow allows you to assess:
- Your entity’s ability to meet its obligations
- The entity’s ability to generate positive future net cash flows
- The need for possible external financing
- The reason for the differences between income and associated cash receipts and payments
We will help you develop short-term and long-term cash projections that will allow you to plan the necessary capital strategy to meet your business needs. We will also provide you with help in utilizing effective collection and payment policies.
If you would like to learn more about how to avoid those stressful cash shortages, schedule a consultation session today.
Internal Controls
Internal controls safeguard the assets of a company against unauthorized acquisition, use and disposition and are setup by management to provide reasonable assurance related to:
- Reliability of financial reporting
- Effectiveness and efficiency of operations
- Compliance with applicable laws and regulations
Put another way, Internal Controls are put in place to stop CRIME in the workplace as indicated by the mnemonic:
- [C]ontrol Activities to ensure that the directives of management are adhered to.
- [R]isk Assessments to identify and analyze risks.
- [I]nformation and Communication that support the identification, capture and exchange of information in a manner and timeframe to enhance the performance of duties.
- [M]onitoring mechanisms that assesses the quality of internal control processes over time.
- Control [E]nvironment which essentially sets the tone of an organization as it influences the consciousness of the people.
If you would like to learn more about to improve your financial reporting and operational objectives to protect your assets and the things you have worked so hard to achieve, call us today for a consultation.
Tax Services
No matter what software program you are using, there is absolutely no substitute for using an experienced tax professional. At UPJ Accounting and Tax Services we say, “Deductions Left Out are Refunds Denied”. Over 71% of Americans believe they benefit from the services of Accounting professionals. After many years of reviewing client prepared returns, we realized that many showed a liability to IRS and their State, when they were entitled to refunds. In addition, many were audited due to simple errors that were red flags to the taxing agencies resulting in payment of penalty and interest on items that should never have been included on those returns. Today’s tax laws are complicated even to tax professionals who do not keep up with the ever-changing rules. For anyone who is not and accounting / tax professional a relatively simple return can be confusing. Deductions are overlooked, and credits are not taken. We consider no return too simple or too complicated to work with. Whether you are 5 minutes or thousands of miles away – remote or in person, you and/or your business will receive the same level of personalized attention. Our customers come from many different states and they all have the same satisfactory experience working with UPJ.
Tax Problem Resolution
Most people can spot correspondence from the IRS and other taxing authorities by simply opening the mailbox or flipping through what was left bound up in a rubber band from the post office. Most clients describe it as:
- Not A Good Feeling
- A Pit in the Stomach Feeling
- A Panicky Feeling
So many adjectives to describe the awful sense of helplessness when that happens. But we are here to help you and we will work with you through those issues by asking the right questions and tackling your issues head on. We will put you at ease and take on the burden of resolving your issues.
If You Are in Need of:
- IRS Audit Representation
- Un-filed Tax Returns
- Back Taxes Owed
- Payroll Tax Problems
- IRS Liens
- IRS Levies
- IRS Wage Garnishment
- IRS Seizures
- IRS Payment Plans
- Offer-In-Compromise
- Bankruptcy
- Innocent Spouse Relief
- Get your IRS File