Auditing has changed substantially over the course of my long and not-so-storied career. I’m not talking about audits by the IRS or the Department of Revenue. I’m talking about audits by CPA firms. This is what accountants call the ‘attest function.’ An independent organization, the CPA firm, issues an opinion on the veracity of the […]
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Happy New Year 2024!
Happy New Year everyone. I’ve got a few observations as we head into this new year. Christmas Deliveries Usually, we hear each year about logistic delays and late deliveries during the pre-Christmas rush. This year, I didn’t hear anything about this. USPS, FedEx, UPS and Amazon seem to have solved the issues they had in […]
No Whining! We Have Much to be Grateful For
My last blog post was titled, “Have We Become a Nation of Whiners?” I got a lot of responses, all positive, and most agreeing that we have and that they count themselves amongst the whiners! Okay, me too. But that got me thinking. Are things really so bad? Sure, the wars in the world are […]
Have We Become a Nation of Whiners?
Much has been written over the last couple of years about the economy and the difference between how the economy is performing and the perception of how the economy is performing. Specifically, why is there such a disparity between how the economy is doing and how people say it is doing? First, how is the […]
Electric Cars: An Unfolding Drama
I’m a car enthusiast and particularly enjoy BMWs. But I also enjoy watching the automotive industry, especially right now as the industry is going through the biggest change in the last century. The whole autonomous vehicle adoption is going slower than I thought it would, but the electrification of automobiles is progressing rapidly. The accepted […]
Out of Africa
From June 28th through July 11th, my wife, grandson, two relatives from Korea, and I took a trip to Kenya and Tanzania. Most people harbor a desire, since childhood I think, to see the animals of Africa in their natural setting. That was certainly true for my wife and I. We’re getting to an age […]
“Simplicity is Complexity Resolved”
This is a quote from Constantin Brancusi, a Romanian sculptor, painter, and photographer who made his career in France. He lived from 1876 to 1957 and is considered a very influential figure in modern sculpture. And while I’m not keen on his sculpture, I do love the quote, “Simplicity is complexity resolved.” I had never […]
Back to the Office or Work from Home?
Perhaps the biggest legacy of the pandemic is the changes it has wrought on “the office.” The simple version of this is, “Back to the office or work from home?” Of course, it isn’t that simple. In fact, it isn’t simple at all but goes to the core many of our businesses. During the pandemic, […]
Cash Projections are Overrated
Here is my thesis: Cash Projections are overrated and often a waste of time. I know that sounds like heresy coming from a CFO, but let me make my argument. Cash is Important First, cash is important to a business, of course it is. In fact, cash is to a business as blood is to […]
Long-Term Clients
One of the most satisfying things about my consulting practice is the effectiveness of working with clients for a period of five years or more. I’ve got a number of clients I’ve worked with over five years, some over ten years. In the case of these long-term clients, we’ve been able to achieve much. That’s […]