CHAPTER IV
Avoiding the Roadblocks

The Dilemma of Stagnated Success

Even if you are barely started in business, it’s wise to see the bigger picture.

THERE ARE FIVE important stages of business to understand when monitoring the ongoing financial health of your developing business. These different stages in the life of the business are related to a number of internal and external forces. Being aware of them and working to avoid getting trapped in a given stage requires discipline and focus on the key elements of each one.

The Start-Up Stage of the business is a delicate balance between planning, organizing, aggressive sales initiatives, stringent cost controls, and dynamic adjustment to frequently changing information and results. Frankly, it can be chaotic. Entrepreneurial enthusiasm, pushing through roadblocks hundreds of times before achieving the results you need, drives the company’s life. Energy, focus, persistence, constant adjustment, and unwavering determination are key elements in start-ups. Financially, things can look good, if the company has realistic cash reserves or access to credit to support it until revenue starts coming in. As a company continues to grow and gain momentum, this start-up stage shifts into the Development stage.

The Development Stage sees things perking along (provided the company survived Start-Up) and the focus shifts to achieving growth goals. There’s still a lot of energy and enthusiasm, but things are starting to settle down and processes that enhance efficiency or improve quality begin to claim a share of everyone’s attention. Financially, budgeting and cash flow, forecasting, credit management and improved reporting systems get a lot of attention.

The Maintenance Stage of Business appears when a younger, growing business matures into a more stable, consistent structure with established customer relationships, relatively steady business volume, and comprehensive elements to maintain and support the more mature business structure. In this cycle a large portion of the business infrastructure is focused on maintaining and supporting existing business relationships and product segments that drive the bulk of the profit for the company.

In this stage, however, a lower percentage of resources may be devoted to starting new products, programs and initiatives, while infrastructure and the status quo rise in importance. The danger in this is that the energy and momentum that was used to start and develop the initial business success may be lost or severely reduced. Without the appropriate focus on new products, new programs, innovation, and researching new trends, the company may begin to stagnate. Its products and services may become less compelling to the changing market, and competitors with fresh new ideas, products and programs may start eroding market share. At this point, stagnation may start a downward financial spiral.

The Declining Business Stage unfortunately sometimes follows, often marked by significant stagnation and incorrect actions taken to re-establish business momentum. The common mistake made in trying to reverse stagnation is a failure to assess its true causes. Not recognizing the changing needs of the market; failing to adjust, evolve or replace the product; backing off on sales and marketing initiatives; avoiding making real comparisons to successful competitors; and an inability to openly assess weaknesses all contribute to the downward spiral of a business. As we have seen around the world in recent years, a debate arises: do we choose austerity, or invest in future growth with OPM (other people’s money)?

Too often, management gets caught up in spending most of their time building defensive reports and statistics to prove their past successes will enable them to turn things around and achieve positive results again. They fail to accept that the current plan is not working and change is needed. But change can only occur if management is willing to open their minds, check their egos at the door and explore all possibilities openly and honestly.

To halt the decline, a number of things need to happen. The process starts with SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) of who is successful and why. It also includes market research about what customers want today and in the future. Only then can a very candid and open review of the current business related to this new information happen. A very aggressive and focused strategic planning session follows, to develop an effective plan to effectively re-start and grow the business.

Unfortunately, all too often the leadership and management responsible for a declining company are usually not the best-equipped people to recognize this problem and execute the solution. This is why a declining company often lives with management in denial long enough to slide into the final stages of shutdown, turn around, or sale.

The Turn-Around Stage looks very much like the initial start-up stage because of the fast-paced tempo needed to get things going in the sales area while controlling costs aggressively. The Finance area needs to back this new outlook while making sure expenses and investments are still duly evaluated. The company is back on uncharted waters and its past successes don’t necessarily promise future ones.

Also, unlike in the lean and mean Start-Up stage, in Turn-Around the company must deal with any number of pre-existing elements of the business that need to be addressed while simultaneously turning on new sales momentum and growth. These additional elements include aged debt, infrastructure, employees, existing customers, suppliers, vendors, and other established elements. In some cases layoffs and job eliminations are necessary. Restructuring debt may be required to allow the company to operate. Customer relationships may need to be repaired and rebuilt. Vendor relationships may need to be repaired or changed. The complexity of the turnaround environment is a blend of removing the old elements that do not fit the new model, establishing the new strategic direction in a very short period of time, and executing on all initiatives as quickly as would happen in a start-up cycle of business. A successful turnaround requires candid, open conversation with a group of dedicated team members willing to follow and execute the leaders’ decisions quickly and efficiently.

The different stages of business and their financial aspects are important to understand as you start and grow a new business. Stagnation can creep in when the drivers that were responsible for your success get lost in a more complacent, stable business environment. Success is not a permanent state, however. The journey you started on Day 1 must never end. You can steer clear of stagnation if your company keeps growing, innovating, and pursuing the evolving needs and wants of your customers. The future success of your business depends on staying focused on the most successful track.

Facing Your Financial Fears

The first step to overcoming your financial fears is to face them. That step is always the hardest. But if you face them, you can overcome them.

IF YOU CASUALLY ASK people to name their fears, their responses will be all over the map. Some may immediately point to death, personal tragedy or natural disasters. Others might mention actual phobias such as a fear of heights, the dark or even spiders. But whatever they might be, we know we can’t avoid our fears forever. Completely ignoring them won’t make them magically disappear.

In business (as in your personal life), your approach to financial fears may follow the same path as some of your other fears or phobias. You may ignore them. You may have someone else deal with them; or you may simply struggle through them with great trepidation. So, what are some common financial fears that many entrepreneurs share? Let’s look at a handful:

• Running out of money before revenue or profitability arrives

• Investing too much new money back into the business

• Losing customers or market share

• Borrowing money

• Taking out loans

• Opening bills (yes, opening envelopes or clicking on links!)

• Paying bills late

• Not having enough funds to pay the bills, payroll, taxes

• Invoicing

• Asking for payments

• Collecting late fees

• Not keeping records well, especially for tax purposes

• Not making consistent, appropriate financial decisions for the business

• Not being able to sell your company for a profit

• Justifying the sale price for the company

• Not being able to retire at a suitable age

• Having no exit strategy

Every small business owner will eventually experience one or several of these fears, or similar ones. Common sense says that facing your financial fears, developing a clear understanding of the situation, defining what’s controlable and what’s not, and exploring what might be at stake will set you up to deal with them much better.

But what if you haven’t had much experience in these fear-generating areas? What if you’ve previously failed at some of these things? Regardless of the predicament, it’s best to confront your most significant financial fear(s) head-on, treat them like a high priority to-do list item, and then begin reducing each of them to a manageable size.

Taking this course of action will give you a more empowered perspective from which you can begin to map your moves toward a positive outcome. As long as financial fear grips you, you’ll feel paralyzed, and nothing will ever get resolved. You will find that if you start thinking and acting differently, proactively, you can build a new habit and a new response to the flags of fear. You will get better at handling them now and in the future, get even better and better. Who wants a life of overall worry and constant indecision?

Confront your fears with relevant questions

Start by turning your focus away from your fears to the real facts, and then start trying out or evaluating solutions mentally or on paper. This will begin removing some of the mystery behind the scary things. Move your probable fears out in the open before they actually occur by asking questions like the ones below. They are designed to get you thinking about that big bear growling in the corner of your mind.

• What is my back-up plan if the business begins to falter?

• How much am I willing to invest in my business?

• What will be my strategy for attracting and then maintaining a strong customer-base?

• What will be my survival strategy in a slow economy?

• How much will I be willing to personally collateralize on a business loan or line of credit?

• How much should I budget for expenses and outstanding invoices?

• What do I want or need my company to be worth when I sell it?

• At what age do I want to retire?

Take control, evaluate and plan ahead

Asking a series of precise, financially-related questions even before your business launches also will force you to look at nearly every financial scenario (and subsequent fear) that could come into play before it actually happens. The result could be that your fears may never materialize, or they may end up being nothing more than a few challenging roadblocks to overcome.

Throughout the course of this exercise, you may not initially have all of the solutions covered. This is not a big deal. The bigger picture here is that you have undertaken a process to eliminate your financial fears by facing them, thinking them through, and taking action. Here are some simple guidelines to follow as you begin assembling your questions and search for actionable responses:

Be realistic. Don’t understate or overestimate the potential of your new business, especially the financial aspects of the operation.

Set no-nonsense financial goals. It’s great to aim high. Wanting your business to achieve its maximum potential is only natural. However, thinking of the financial facets that surround your organization, these goals must be judged feasible by not only you, but your partners, investors and employees.

Document your existing financial affairs. Knowing and understanding all the ins and outs of the current financial status of your business will determine not only where you’ve been, but where you might be going—and where you’re vulnerable. This aids in proper forecasting and proposed budgeting all the way around. Knowing exactly where you really stand, even if it’s not a place you want to be, takes the guess-work out of the equation too.

Make financial literacy an ongoing part of your entrepreneurship. Knowing how credit, credit-scoring, banking, lending, investing and even accounting work is one the most significant gifts you could ever give for yourself and your business.

Involve industry professionals at every turn. When in doubt, turn to the pros. Once you have educated yourself in relevant financial areas, it will be easy to communicate your business’s needs to these professionals, who should then be able to receive the hand-off from you with minimal confusion. Your financial fears should be eased even further, since you know that your team of legal, accounting, bookkeeping and banking professionals are keeping a watchful eye on the financially-related elements of your operation.

Your former fears are now an action plan

Facing financial fears is something that virtually all entrepreneurs have experienced. For you and your small business, the goal will be to turn those negative financial fears into a practice of positive financial oversight. This oversight can be done with confidence if you have a solid and affirmative plan in place to convert those pointless fears. Your new plans will now establish a current (and future) roadmap to follow to keep you on the path to financial success.

Remember, your financial fears may simply be opportunities in disguise. So, be confident, get educated, take action, and then get in control. Success awaits.

How Much Should You Share with Employees?

It’s not just about profit. Information is almost as coveted as cash. Ever heard of the inner circle?

IF YOU HAVE employees in your small business (or intend to hire some in the future) you face countless decisions surrounding them. One key aspect of successfully managing employees is keeping them happy and productive. At some point you will have to make choices about the level of transparency you establish regarding sensitive company news. Sharing information with employees can build morale and productivity, but it requires good judgment and a good feel for people.

Think about your company for a moment. Do you currently tell your employees everything that is going on? Do you tell them nothing? Or do you provide information only about matters you think they need to know about?

You’re the boss, right?

Obviously, certain things need to be kept confidential or be adapted before sharing. Salary rates, benefits, employee records, or other human resources-related materials need protection. Ditto for any sensitive corporate legal proceedings, private records and trade secrets. This information should always be protected, explicitly through non-disclosure agreements, hiring agreements and the like; or implicitly or verbally in the context of meetings, conversations and correspondence.

Early on, some small business owners may lean toward limited information sharing with their employees. They hope to control the work environment and keep people focused on their particular tasks. So they only give out information on a need-to-know basis. But sometimes this top-down control approach can backfire, as employees may assemble the limited scraps of information they hear into distorted pictures laced with speculation and gossip—which is likely to be incorrect, and is potentially more distracting and morale-lowering than carefully concealed business issues.

Other entrepreneurs err on the side of letting everyone in on every headache and triumph. When your entire company can fit in one vehicle and you share one open office, it’s hard for things to be otherwise. This does tend to distract people who don’t know the context of what they overhear, who lack financial or other training to understand issues, or who just love to listen in on the office dramas. It can give employees a sense of participating in the new business’s success, though, and can teach people how their specific role fits with the rest of the business.

Employees, for the most part, want to feel proud of where they are employed and in the work they produce. As an entrepreneur, you must chart a course that’s neither secretive nor tell-all when it comes to sharing company news. If you strike the right balance, you’ll create a win-win situation for everyone. Inadequate information can cause operational and cultural dysfunction while indiscriminate sharing bogs everybody down. Balanced transparency often keeps your best staffers from leaving. If members of your team get adequate information to maximize their performance but are protected from undue worries and stress, they can work with satisfaction and feel a sense of belonging in the organization.

How do you create balanced transparency?

Let’s take a look at a few things you can do if you want to open up the flow of information to help create a positive work environment.

Make transparency a resolution. Routinely providing employees news, updates and information about the company, its customers, and the current projects can go a long way in making people feel like a true member of a team and also an integral part of the company itself. Such sharing can provide stability, confidence and focus across the board. Consistently communicating this information also helps build trust throughout the group. By implementing a certain level of transparency within an organization, you can make certain that your staffers have all the essential information. And bit by bit their own business savvy will grow, making them more valuable employees over time.

Create a two-way communication and feedback model. Generally, the more constructive feedback you can offer your employees, the more they will benefit. And you can benefit from feedback as well. When employees can acknowledge their progress, or lack thereof, and clearly understand how their current priorities fit with the bigger company picture, they will become more effective. The same goes the other way too. Receiving feedback from workers regarding your new products, customer service issues, pricing, future project feasibility and even your leadership and management can be invaluable asset for an owner in reaching decisions. An environment of mutual respect and support can tap hidden talents when balanced transparency is part of the mix.

Place a high priority on company-wide collaboration. Once transparency is established and a feedback and communication model is implemented, a company-wide collaboration plan could also be part of the regular communication stream. When your workforce has a platform to candidly discuss goals and projects with owners and managers, creativity and innovative concepts will flourish. This encourages employees to be proactive in solving problems themselves too. By updating them on progress on projects they have initiated, you show their contributions are helping to grow and improve the business. Display or share charts, graphs and reports to mark progress.

Are there risks in this policy?

Of course there can be, if you’re not careful. It would be a serious mistake to use this new transparency as a crisis management device. The last thing you want is to scare your employees to death about their employment status with you. If you are facing layoffs or similar negative events, it might be wise to bring in a human resources specialist to either coach you or actually handle the communications properly for you. Truth is, if you’ve been sharing good and bad news along the way, even very bad news can be put into context and make sense. Your employees know it’s a tough world out there, and that your company (or any company for that matter) can be vulnerable to internal or external factors that could lead to trouble.

But consider the alternative. Employees may assume the worst and even jump ship when they are not communicated with by their business owner. Consistent silence can cause negative rumors, panic and even anger sometimes. None of these reactions contribute to a creative or productive work environment.

Of course, getting everyone together for the sheer purpose of sounding an alarm is never the correct course of action. Sharing tough information carefully and respectfully can show your employees that you are leading with confidence in tough times. It can inspire people to tackle roadblocks in a collaborative effort. Everyone can benefit if they forge a team environment in heading off the negatives that could be on the way. Confidence rules over crisis every day.

Finally, always temper bad news and information with the positives that surround you. A company full of solid employees who understand what’s at stake and who are willing to work together to solve problems in a positive environment is always better than the alternative.

Your challenge is to figure out what level of transparency and course of action may be best suited to your organization’s business model. Therefore, do not take this project lightly. Regard it as the foundation of employee contentment, longevity and success.

Common Financial Pitfalls

By avoiding these common pitfalls, you can start out where everyone else wanted to be. Know what you don’t know.

THE SINGLE smartest thing to remember as a small business owner is to know what you don’t know! And although that statement sounds funny when spoken, it’s absolutely true. Every entrepreneur dreams of launching his or her dream company without any hitches—and financial hitches always top that list.

With that in mind, just understanding that an assortment of financial pitfalls might be on your path going forward will be half your battle. On the other hand, the future can be hard to anticipate when you are starting up. You can learn from other people’s experience by asking yourself how likely their misfortunes could be to happen to you, and then asking how you would respond if they do pop up. That may not be much comfort, but by envisioning typical scenarios, you can prepare as much as possible.

Common threats and what to do about them

So what are the most common threats to a small start-up? And what can you do to minimize your business’s chance of running into them? Here is a list of the most common ones, based on our experience and our familiarity with many other entrepreneurs’ challenges. Then below, we’ll suggest the best ways to avoid them.

Here are the threats, in no particular order of importance or frequency:

• Not having enough cash reserves to support operations until revenue from the business starts flowing in

• Using credit cards to finance operations

• Mingling personal with business financials

• Not providing for your own compensation from the business’s revenue

• Mismanaging accounts receivable

• Thinking you can handle aspects of your business for which you don’t have adequate training

• Micromanaging

Now let’s take each threat in turn and see what you can do to prevent or minimize it.

Not enough cash reserves? Even if your business is relatively inexpensive to crank up, you probably will need to invest in its set-up, and then it may be several fiscal quarters (or more) before you are able to realize steady income (to say nothing of profits) for the company. Starting up with an adequate operating cash reserve will be your redeemer. This is one of many problems that a well-thought-out business plan should highlight. Don’t fool yourself by wishfully thinking the money will somehow be there.

Plastic-dependent? Some small business owners are forced to turn to credit cards for early-stage survival, especially when they haven’t planned properly. Credit cards carry high interest charges and sometimes annual fees. Whether it be through a small business loan, a capital infusion by outside investors or even your own personal funding, making sure there is sufficient operating capital can save you from getting into credit card debt. Avoid these unnecessary debits and use your cash.

Mixing personal and business finances? It can be tempting to cross the line between personal and business funds, especially in a one-person business. But it can lead to trouble, including shorting yourself or losing personal money if your business is in tough shape. Keeping these two entities completely separate not only makes it easier for accounting, budgeting and reconciling both sets of books, but it assists in determining your actual profits (or losses) for the small business. Your bank, investors, and tax authorities will want (or require) this practice anyway.

Shorting yourself on compensation? Throughout the early stages of your business’s existence, it may seem like a solid decision to redistribute any and all your profits back into your business. This is an admirable, heroic point of view. However, not compensating yourself along the way could harm your personal finances and financial good standing. It’s important to find the right balance for your specific personal needs. Once again, your business plan should show both your compensation and how it’s going to be paid, particularly in the early period. Not budgeting early for this properly can lead to a personal financial problem.

Accounts receivable out of control? This is always a huge challenge for small business owners. Your payment terms should be printed on the back of every invoice, and you should have a clear process that you follow religiously in collecting payments. Hopefully, most of your top customers have a solid history of payment, but even they can have cash flow problems that cause them to make late or partial payments. A prompt reminder when a payment is not received on time can become part of the way you do business—after all, you are due that money. You can decide if imposing late fees or credit limits will work for both you and your customers.

Another serious risk in this area is becoming dependent on just a few customers, or having one giant customer and other little ones. If something happens to these key customers, you are in trouble. Allowing your best customers preferential payment terms is absolutely acceptable, as long as you can plan for it and the trade-off is reciprocated by real benefits to your business. If for some reason accounts receivable are mounting up (due to seasonal or other factors), it is reassuring if you have a cash reserve to draw on as an emergency back-up.

Need professional expertise? Knowing what you don’t know applies particularly to certain aspects of business. As an entrepreneur, it is impossible to know the ins and outs of every legal, accounting, technology and industry issue. Tapping the expertise and experience of professionals in these and other specialized fields is both smart and safe. Professional advice may cost a good deal initially, but over the long haul, this guidance will keep you ahead of the curve in every aspect of your growing business. Budget for these needs and avoid even more financial pitfalls that could arise from attempting to do things you are not prepared to do professionally.

Micromanaging? This practice has its roots in the same soil as the threat we just looked at (thinking you know everything). Trying to do everything yourself and needlessly overseeing others prevent you from running your company at optimum levels. Trust your outsourced professionals, employees, freelancers and anyone else involved in your business affairs to do their job and you will succeed. Chances are if you chose these individuals correctly, they will do a better job than you anyhow. This is a good practice to follow from Day 1 because as your business grows, it will become impossible to micromanage your business anyway. Therefore avoid this trap early on by budgeting for it and giving people room to perform.

A few more things to consider

There are countless other pitfalls lurking out there. The ones we’ve just examined can be skirted if you keep your radar tuned for signs that one of them is looming ahead. But there are others that especially affect first-time entrepreneurs: opening too much credit early on, overinvesting too much in your business before it has proven itself, expanding too quickly, not paying attention to your financials and ledger sheets, and not staying completely organized in every aspect of your business. Surrounding yourself with a strong team of individuals internally and externally will go a long way in preventing these things from taking root and becoming a problem.

Starting a new business can be as rewarding as anything anybody looking for a challenge could hope for in life. Learning about potential financial pitfalls should never make you waver from your goal of becoming a successful entrepreneur either. In fact, it should help in validating your decision by instilling a higher degree of confidence in yourself. Navigating the whitewater of a start-up can even be fun. Just make sure to identify, document and learn from every step of your progress, including the financial pitfalls you encounter, and success will follow.

Ten Tax Mistakes to Avoid

They say nothing’s surer than death and taxes. Reduce the possibilities of tax problems by avoiding these typical tax mistakes.

TAX ISSUES PRESENT an ever-changing, ongoing challenge to small businesses, particularly start-ups. They require consistent, competent attention and compliance. As we have seen, you simply must have access to a qualified professional tax advisor to prevent problems and avoid penalties.

The first two big mistakes

Yet even if you have a tax advisor, you need to keep a sharp eye on all your business’s tax-related activity. Always ask questions and understand the reasons for the important decisions and choices you and your advisor take related to your overall tax strategies, as well as your tax planning, filings, credits, and so forth. After all, you know your business best. Your tax advisor is an expert in tax practices, not your specific business sector, and certainly not your particular business. You must supply the context and rationales for the actions you take.

So that’s the first mistake entrepreneurs make: not being properly briefed and failing to understand the impact of important decisions related to taxes. The good news is that if you address this need, you can avoid making most of the other common mistakes below. Just make sure you are fully briefed and that you understand what your advisor’s strategy is for optimizing tax planning.

The second common mistake is trying to save money by handling too many tax-related activities inside your company. You certainly can process a lot of the basics internally, but even there, it pays to have your tax advisor help you set up and periodically review your day-to-day practices and systems (including your accounting software) so you capture and record all relevant data in an orderly way.

Other mistakes

• Being ignorant about the current tax laws. This is an easy way to get into trouble with your tax authority and incur significant fines and penalties.

• Missing out on tax credits. Changes in tax credit policies can appear or vanish for different reasons at different times. These need to be researched and pursued when they apply to your business.

• Using wrong forms or handling things wrongly. Certain filing requirements related to the use of specific forms, methods of reporting, reporting deadlines, and other specific information requirements are easy to miss, as are simple math or typing errors. Once you get off track or behind with reporting requirements, it can be very difficult to straighten out and clear up your data. The cost of bringing a professional in to clean up significant errors, incomplete filings, or missing reports will be significantly greater than the cost of using that resource from the beginning.

Once you have committed to using an appropriate resource to guide this process, there are a number of actions you must focus on to avoid tax mistakes caused by your own action or inaction. The primary mistakes that are within your control are these:

• Insufficient or unacceptable documentation of business expenses. This can be a real challenge. Your tax professional will rely on your records to substantiate any tax deductions or credits you might be claiming. This includes business travel, business entertainment, equipment purchases, disposable items purchased for the business, and other business-related expenses.

• Proper information and details related to new hires. The constantly changing tax laws in your area may offer specific tax credits or call for tax payments for employees who fit certain profiles. They may be related to military service, disability, demographics, the nature of your industry, or your business category.

• Determining whether individuals working for you should be categorized as independent contractors or employees of the company. You need to know the requirements for employment status and the corresponding employee benefit and tax withholding obligations. If you choose to engage the activities of an individual or a business as an independent contractor providing services to your business, it will be important to follow the appropriate guidelines for your area, and to meet all reporting and tax filing requirements. The key in this regard is to understand the specific regulations and reporting requirements in your area to understand when someone can be treated as an independent contractor, and when they must be treated as an employee of the company. Significant fines and penalties may be imposed if you do not comply with the specific guidelines for your business.

• Not properly separating the business funds from personal funds in your records or bank accounts. We mentioned this earlier, in connection with “good housekeeping” practices for your financials in general. Regarding taxes, though, if you aren’t careful, funds can become co-mingled. If that happens, the legitimate tax deductions or tax credits you might qualify for may be disqualified because you did not maintain a clear and distinct business record for all financial transactions. Fines and penalties for this error vary, depending on where your business is located.

• Not treating larger cash transactions in your business properly. Recording cash transactions properly in your business accounting may not be enough to eliminate cash reporting mistakes. Sometimes a business that operates with a significant percentage of cash transactions may not correctly report all the activity in their accounting. The challenge comes when you organize expenses for tax reporting. Your expense/revenue ratios may not match those that your tax officials expect to see. This may raise a red flag that triggers a more detailed audit to identify additional specific details that may be incorrect. It pays to be well-informed and very precise about your obligations in this area, as in some countries, laws require separate and specific reporting for large cash transactions. (This requirement is being enforced more and more frequently as it can be a tool for identifying potential terrorist, drug, or other illegal activities.)

The moral of the story? Avoid making the most common business tax mistakes by finding a qualified tax professional to help you set up and maintain everything related to taxes. With proper tax planning, reporting and paying, you can rest assured that your business will be in excellent shape in the event the tax authorities raise any questions. Your partnership with a tax planning professional, including your efforts to ask questions, get fully briefed, and document and execute your tax practices correctly, has major implications. Why? Because as a business owner, even if you are not the person who makes a particular mistake, you are the one who will held responsible.

M.O.