March 2015

For many business owners and CFOs, risk management is not an enjoyable topic.  So, how can Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) surge wealth?  After all, a complex nomenclature like “Enterprise Risk Management” sounds like code for “spend more money.”  However, the opposite is the case.  Developing and executing a more mature risk management approach – described as ERM –  will almost always increase the total wealth of a business and its owners, while better managing risks.

Over the years, entrepreneurial thinking has created tremendous wealth in the United States, fueled upward mobility, expanded the middle class and provided a standard of living that would have been unimaginable to America’s founders.  This same entrepreneurial spirit

Over time, taxes can take a heavy toll on a business and its owners.  Year after year, profits are stripped away to pay taxes often resulting in a business that is less prepared for the challenges and risks it may face in the future.  The good news is that, thanks to Congress you don’t have to choose between paying taxes

I was on a hike in the mountains, when my children jumped on a log on the side of the trail.  It crumbled under their weight, and we realized it had been hollowed out by insects and termites.  The log looked solid enough to hold their weight, but clearly wasn’t.  This log reminds me of a lot of small and mid-size businesses.

Hollowed out businesses are poorly positioned for long term survival.  Excessive taxes can take a heavy toll on the economic viability of a business.  This is particularly true for small and mid-size

By Sean King, JD, CPA, MAcc

We have a couple sayings in the South that accurately describe the current state of the captive insurance industry.  One is, “the smeller is the feller”. Another is, “he who smelt it, dealt it”. Both reference the all-too-common human tendency to deflect blame for something seemingly incriminating or embarrassing (passing gas, for instance) by being the first and loudest to accuse others of having done so.

Given that this human tendency is so widespread, it should come as no surprise then that some of the country’s most outspoken critics of 831(b) “promoters” are, or at least not long ago were, by their own definition, tax shelter promoters extraordinaire.   I will identify one of them by name here, and I will provide some evidence to support my contention. I may name others in future posts.