Securing Online Transactions: GABB Sept. 28
It’s a business broker’s worst nightmare.
The sale is complete, documents are signed, and the closing attorney has done his/her work. But somehow the funds have gone missing! Wired funds can be stolen so easily today.
Find out how you can protect yourself and your clients from this fiasco at the Sept. 28 meeting of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. The meeting will start at 10 a.m. The meeting, which is free and open to the public, will be held only online (see Zoom registration directions below). Regretfully, one of our speakers was exposed to COVID-19 and is unable to attend in person; we will be back to meeting in person as soon as we can do so in line with the guidelines set out by the CDC.
A closing should mean that the seller gets paid. Usually, the buyer wires in their down payment, the attorney develops and sends out a closing statement the day before the closing, and everyone agrees with his/her numbers. Unfortunately, a buyer will sometimes send over wiring instructions via email and those instructions get phished and the instructions end up in the wrong place! The buyer or the seller may lose their money; in some cases, millions of dollars.
Brian Harper, Senior Vice President and SBA Division Manager of Atlantic Capital Bank, and Ricky Robertson, Atlantic Capital Bank’s Operational Risk Manager, will speak about best practices from a security standpoint. Find out from the experts how to avoid getting scammed during an electronic transfer.
Ricky Robertson, Atlantic Capital Bank’s Operational Risk Manager
Ricky Robertson began his career in law enforcement and spent six years as a detective concentrating mostly on investigating white collar crime. During his time in law enforcement, Ricky completed computer forensic investigations and served as the commander of the crisis negotiation team. Over the past 14 years, Ricky has worked in banking in the Information & Corporate Security fields. As Atlantic Capital Bank’s Operational Risk Manager, Ricky’s main job responsibilities include Corporate Security, Information Security, and Operational Risk. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and earned the Certified Protection Professional certification from ASIS International.
Brian Harper, Senior Vice President and SBA Division Manager of Atlantic Capital Bank
Mr. Harper has more than 25 years of business banking and lending experience and ample experience handling multi-million dollar transactions. He is a member of the Rotary Club of Dunwoody, Junior Achievement, Georgia Lenders Quality Circle, National Association of Government Guaranteed Lenders, the Georgia Association of Business Brokers, Our Lady of Assumption Church, is a coach for Murphey Candler Baseball and a board member of the Georgetown Recreation Center.
To join the meeting via Zoom, please register in advance for this meeting at this link. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Claudia Wilson, Vice President, SBA Relationship Manager at SouthState Bank, is sponsoring the meeting.
The GABB is the state’s preeminent organization of professionals involved in the purchase and sale of businesses and franchises, and operates the state’s only real estate school devoted to business brokering. For more information about the GABB, contact GABB president Judy Mims at judy@childcare.properties or at 404-918-3666; or email diane.loupe@gabb.org or text 770-744-3639.
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Business Valuation: GABB BCB Class Oct 19, 2021
Learn basic approaches to business valuation, including how COVID may have impacted what a business is worth and tax strategies for maximum profits in this three-hour class offered by the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. The class will be held from 10 a.m. until 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 19, 2021 at the Georgia Association of Realtors classroom and also available online. Registration information below.
Students who successfully complete the GABB class will earn credits towards the Board-Certified Broker designation, the first Georgia-specific certification for business brokers. To earn the BCB, business brokers must be members of the GABB and complete 45 hours of coursework. During this extraordinary time in our nation’s economy, the GABB feels that an excellent use of time would be to strengthen the skills professionals need to represent clients fairly, ethically and responsibly.
The class will be taught by Jeff Forrestall, CPA, CFF, ABV, PFS, Managing Partner of Forrestall CPAS and Ricky Moore, CPA, PFS, ABV, QKA, MBA, the Manager of Advisory Services at Forrestall CPAs. Both instructors have experience in tax and financial planning and business valuation.
Topics to be covered in this three-hour class include:
- Reconciling Valuation Approaches – Why sellers like the market approach and buyers like the income approach
- COVID Updates: How COVID can affect entity value
- Evaluating and Reducing company-specific risk
- How to increase after-tax proceeds at the exit point
- Ethical issues affecting business valuations
The class fee is $49 for GABB members, $75 for non-members, and $225 to register for the BCB program plus one class. Note that the BCB program is only open to GABB members. If you want to attend via Zoom, after you register, you will be sent the link. Contact GABB School Director Diane Loupe at diane.loupe@gabb.org or text her at 770-744-3639 for more information.
INSTRUCTORS:
Jeff Forrestall, CPA, CFF, ABV, PFS – Managing Partner of Forrestall CPAs.
Jeff Forrestall, CPA, CFF, ABV, PFS – Managing Partner of Forrestall CPAs. Jeff graduated from Georgia Southern University in 1994 as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a BBA majoring in accounting. He became a partner at Forrestall CPAs, in January 1997. He became the managing partner in 2003. His experience includes financial, business accounting and taxation, merger and acquisitions, 401(k) auditing and administration, business valuations and forensic accounting investigations. He has consulted and advised hundreds of businesses in dozens of industries. He has been a peer reviewer auditing other auditors for compliance to professional standards.
He obtained the status as a Diplomat of the American Board of Forensic Accountants (DABFA) designation and is Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), Certified IT Professional (CITP), Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) and Certified as Accredited in Business Valuations (ABV) by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. He additionally obtained the Associate Professional Member (APM) and the Qualified 401k Administrator (QKA) from the American Society of Professional Pension and Actuaries. He has been designated as an expert as a CPA and in business valuations by local courts.
In 2002 he was recognized by the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants as one of the top 30 Certified Public Accountants (CPA) under the age of 40 in the State of Georgia as an alumnus of their Leadership Academy. He was awarded the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce “Pinnacle Top 25” for demonstrating extraordinary growth and leadership in businesses and contributions to the community. Additionally, he is an alumnus of the Leadership Gwinnett program, sponsored by the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, and an alumnus of the Regional Leadership Institute program from the Atlanta Regional Commission.
He is a former member of the Board of Directors and currently serves on the Leadership Council for the Georgia Society of CPA’s. He has additionally served as the Chair and the Vice Chair of the Information Technology Section, President of the Gwinnett Chapter for the GSCPA for three terms, a trustee for the Society Insurance trust, a member of the Ethic Committee, member of the MAP section and several task force groups for the Georgia Society of CPA’s. He is a former peer reviewer for the GSCPA (audited the auditors for quality assurance).
He is an active member of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce, the American Society of Pension Professionals and Actuaries, American College of Forensic Examiners, Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, Georgia Society of CPA’s, the American Institute of CPA’s and the Georgia Lenders Quality Center. He is currently the Secretary and has been a member of the Board of Directors for the north GeorgiaSBA office (CDC), Small Business Access Partners, for more than 13 years.
He served abroad in the U.S. Army during the war with Afghanistan in 2001 – 2002, as a decorated Commissioned Infantry Officer. Jeff lives in Braselton with his three younger sons. He enjoys teaching scuba diving as a Dive Master, recreational sky diving and traveling in his free time.
Ricky Moore, CPA, PFS, ABV, QKA, MBA is the Manager of Advisory Services at Forrestall CPAs.
Ricky Moore, CPA, PFS, ABV, QKA, MBA is the Manager of Advisory Services at Forrestall CPAs.
After joining the firm as a staff accountant in 2016, Ricky quickly transitioned into advisory services focused on providing more access to a wide range of services that focus on future growth and less on past compliance for both individuals and businesses alike. These advisory services include business valuation of closely held companies, business acquisition/exit strategy, tax & financial planning, Employee-Owned Stock Option (ESOP) retirement plan design, risk management, and other unique consulting engagements designed to specifically provide a solution to specific needs in industries such as transportation, dentistry, health care, food processing, veterinary practices, childcare facilities, and real estate.
Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Ricky was the co-host of the Forrestall CPAs COVID-19 Small Business Update webinar series and led a task force that assisted the business community receive loan forgiveness on more than $35 million in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans. He has also been certified by local court systems and the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a ‘Qualified Source’ for business valuation and was awarded the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
Ricky also provides retirement planning services to both individuals and businesses and was awarded the Personal Financial Specialist (PFS) credential by the AICPA and the Qualified 401(k) Administrator (QKA) by the American Society of Pension Professionals & Actuaries (ASPPA).
To give back to the community, Ricky is a current board member of both the Georgia Lenders Quality Circle (GLQC) and the Hamilton Mill Men’s Golf Association. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, April, and two children. In January 2021, Forrestall CPAs announced that Ricky had become a shareholder of the firm.
GABB BCB Classes
Form for GABB BCB Classes
GABB Million Dollar Club Applications Due Nov. 5
The GABB is now accepting applications for the 2021 Million Dollar Club, recognizing members who have sold businesses worth at least $1 million in the previous year. The deadline for submitting applications is Nov. 5, 2021.
Awardees will be honored at the annual GABB Holiday Gala on Dec. 9 at Villa Christina.
GABB members are eligible for the:
- Million Dollar Club if they have eligible sales from Nov. 1, 2020 to Oct. 31, 2021 of $1,000,000 to $1,999,999.
- Multi-Million Dollar Club if they have eligible sales generated totaling $2,000,000 or more during the same period.
- Life Membership in the Million Dollar Club have been elected to the Million Dollar Club for three consecutive years or any 5 years.
- Phoenix Award if they have been elected to the Million Dollar Club for any 10 years.
- Silver Phoenix if they have been elected to the Million Dollar Club for any 25 years.
To be eligible for the award, an applicant must be a current member in good standing of the Georgia Association of Business Brokers. Only transactions closed after the effective date of membership in GABB will count towards Million Dollar Club volume. All Million Dollar Club members must have attended at least three GABB events during the eligible period, such as meetings, conferences, or social events.
The online application, along with detailed rules about the club, can be found at the GABB website.
GABB Million Dollar Club Application 2020
Million Dollar Club rules:
Please contact diane.loupe@gabb.org if you have any additional questions about this matter, or if you are unable to complete this application online.
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Forecaster Says Virus Variant Will Delay but Not Diminish Economic Growth Prospects
Forecaster Says Virus Variant Will Delay but Not Diminish Economic Growth Prospects
ATLANTA-The impact of COVID-19’s delta variant will delay but not diminish growth prospects, and a current surge in inflation will recede in 2022, according to Rajeev Dhawan of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
“The pause in growth is due to a decrease in consumption of contact-heavy service-sector products, such as hospitality, travel and elective healthcare because of the current surge in coronavirus illnesses and hospitalizations,” Dhawan said. “Once public health measures arrest the surge, consumer sentiment will improve, the service sector will reignite and growth will resume.”
The forecaster posited that three temporary factors are fueling inflation: the reopening of the hospitality and retail trade sectors, idiosyncratic supply chain disruptions and “super-sized stock market gains” leading to “spectacular home price growth.”
Dhawan said, “Hotel room rates have spiked, with a 10 percent increase in each quarter of 2021, as occupancy rose sharply after a long period of inactivity. And this was mostly leisure travel (meeting friends and family and taking summer vacations), which shows up in data as a rise in the consumer price index (CPI). But this is temporary. Another round of double-digit price increases would only happen if people began taking vacations not only in the summer, but also in the fall, and then again in winter – an absurdity, as it violates social calendar norms.”
Anomalous supply chain events (accidents at chip production plants in Taiwan) roiled U.S. car sales when chip shortages reduced new vehicle inventory and led to upward pressure on used-car prices.
“This was a one-time price increase that is already leveling off,” Dhawan said.
Dhawan acknowledged the seeming paradox of falling interest rates for 10-year treasury bonds given the high fiscal deficit and rising inflation.
“Why has the 10-year bond yield fallen for the last three months after peaking at 1.6 percent in March? And does this drop signal diminished growth prospects in 2022?” Dhawan asked. “Let me start by answering the second question. Growth prospects are undiminished but will be delayed.” – more –
Dhawan attributed the drop in 10-year yields to an influx of funds triggered by the arrival of delta variant cases of COVID-19 and an uptick in geopolitical worries.
“Companies pause capital expenditures (investments) during times of uncertainty and park their money in the safest assets in the world – U.S. treasury bonds,” he said.
The forecaster asserted the flight to safety would be temporary, pointing to the widely held perception of statements by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as credible.
Dhawan’s final inflation factor is the heated residential real estate market, spurred by “dramatic” stock market performance since the lows of March 2020, which has fueled “spectacular” home price gains over the last 12 months.
“The pandemic triggered a demand shock – a change in housing taste and location preference – that has not abated during subsequent waves of the virus,” he said. “People are moving from crowded in-town areas to single-family homes farther out or farther away.”
The hot market for residential real estate will ultimately normalize, Dhawan said.
“Once everyone has moved, the demand shock will abate. Affordability depends on price and interest rates. Although the Fed will not raise rates until well into 2023 (as tapering of bond purchases won’t begin until mid-2022),” he said. “Sustained high domestic fiscal deficits and eventual global recovery will push up long-bond yields, causing mortgage rates to reach 4.0 percent by late 2022.”
Dhawan said 2021 has averaged 617,000 new jobs per month from January to July, with almost 50 percent growth in the hospitality and retail trade sectors. The corporate sector, home to premium jobs, is not producing consistent job growth.
“Corporate job growth is at 52,000 new positions per month,” Dhawan said. “That’s only 8 percent of total job growth for a sector whose share of jobs is 14 percent. Further boosts for this sector will hinge on the global economy, which still hasn’t picked up speed because of vaccine scarcity.”
Highlights from Rajeev Dhawan’s National Economic Forecast
- Gross domestic product (GDP) growth will be 5.0 percent in the third quarter of 2021, moderate to less than 3.0 percent in the subsequent two quarters before rebounding to 4.9 percent in the second quarter of 2022 and will be 4.2 percent in the third quarter of 2022.
- Overall GDP growth will be 5.7 percent in 2021, 3.9 percent in 2022 and 2.7 percent in 2023. • Housing starts will average 1.560 million in 2021, 1.433 million in 2022 and 1.363 million in 2023. Vehicle sales will average 16.3 million in 2021, 16.9 million in 2022 and 18.1 million in 2023. • CPI inflation will be 4.3 percent in 2021, moderate to 3.1 percent in 2022 and further moderate to 2.4 percent in 2023. The 10-year bond rate will average 1.4 percent in 2021, 2.1 percent in 2022 and 2.5 percent in 2023.
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Georgia’s Recovery Outpaces U.S. But Not Immune to Global Supply Chain Disruptions
Georgia’s Recovery Outpaces U.S. But Not Immune to Global Supply Chain Disruptions
ATLANTA – Georgia’s recovery from the 2020 pandemic shutdown remains ahead of the nation’s, but further disruptions of the global supply chain could be felt from the port of Savannah to the boardrooms of Atlanta, according to Rajeev Dhawan of the Economic Forecasting Center at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business.
“Although the Peach State outpaces the U.S. in economic recovery metrics, including running a lower job deficit (2 percent in Georgia vs. 4 percent nationally),” Dhawan said, “we contend with the same challenges, including inflation and uncertainty about the trajectory of the COVID-19 delta variant.”
Dhawan describes a hypothetical order of an electronics product in high demand among U.S. consumers. The product is assembled in China of components sourced from throughout the Asia-Pacific region (including perhaps Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, Taiwan and Vietnam). The assembled products ship from a Chinese seaport, perhaps Shenzhen, to an American port – perhaps Savannah, the nation’s third-busiest seaport. After customs, orders ship to retailers for fulfillment.
“Under normal circumstances, the logistics process is seamless. But any interruption along the way – such as a delta variant outbreak at the assembly factory or the outbound seaport–adds to an already overwhelming backlog,” Dhawan said. “And this supply scarcity contributes to inflation and lower activity at Georgia’s signature port.”
Between continuing pandemic concerns, global supply chain snarls and geopolitical worries, Dhawan anticipates Georgia’s corporate sector will “keep pushing the pause button on hiring or making capital expenditures until uncertainty begins to subside in 2022.”
By contrast, Dhawan said, Atlanta-area residential and commercial real estate developers are pivoting to changes in market demand. “Pre-pandemic, developers were building spectacular high-rise office buildings in town and equally spectacular high-density residential towers nearby,” he said. “Today we see a shift to small, low-density office complexes in suburban locations with nearby apartment clusters. Now is not the time to gamble on building a trophy tower.”
Dhawan said one need look no further than the proliferation of 18×24-inch yellow placards lashed to roadside signs to know that active film productions have returned in force to the #1 movie-making city in America. “Georgia’s film industry is doing very well,” he said, “with plans for a symbiotic complex of studio sound stages, housing and commerce at the former General Motors plant in Doraville.”
Highlights from Rajeev Dhawan’s Economic Forecast for Atlanta and Georgia
- Georgia will add 157,500 jobs (33,200 premium jobs) in 2021, gain a respectable 109,500 jobs (30,700 premium) in 2022 and increase by 85,700 (25,500 premium) in 2023.
- Nominal personal income will grow 8.0 percent in 2021, pull back to only 0.3 percent growth in 2022 and rise 4.0 percent in 2023.
- Atlanta will add 114,100 jobs (25,300 premium positions) in 2021, grow by 70,900 jobs (22,100 premium) in 2022 and add 66,100 jobs (19,900 premium) in 2023.
- Atlanta housing permitting activity will increase by 31.1 percent in 2021, decline by 4.7 percent in 2022 and drop by 1.6 percent in 2023.