Tax Reform: Time to Assemble Your Team

Many business owners struggle to assemble the right team of advisors. The lack of collaboration can feel especially painful in smaller businesses, where there aren’t as many executives.

The new year has arrived and with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act now in motion, there has never been a more important time to connect with the right people and gain more angles to your strategic advice. Although there are many important considerations for privately held businesses that will help ensure you maximize the benefits of this sweeping legislation, the best first step is to assemble your team.

You can best sort out tax reform’s impact on you and your business by assembling a cross-functional team of tax and financial experts to help guide you. While your CPA is definitely the “quarterback” of this team, you will benefit from multiple perspectives in the same way you benefit from multiple points of view on many key business decisions. The team should consist of your:

  • CPA
  • Banker
  • Attorney

These three unique perspectives will help ensure you capture all the potential benefits for you both personally and professionally, which is particularly important for privately owned businesses whose personal and business tax scenarios are inherently intertwined.

As a member of your tax/financial team, there are a few specific things your banker should help you with.

  • Discuss the impact of any structural changes to your organization on banking agreements and covenants
  • Plan for how to maximize your capital investment timing through financing alternatives
  • Work out a plan to manage both short- and long-term cash cycle changes that result from your revised tax strategy

There are many variables in addition to these that can impact how you benefit from the legislation. You can learn more about the issues you’re facing and how you can resolve them in this Tax Reform Outlook. Together, we’ll help you sort it all out.