GYL Decauwer LLP

What makes GYL Decauwer LLP different from other accountants?

 I consider myself a business person who practices accounting not an accountant.  This means I act and think like a business person.  Accountants are trained to follow the rules.  Business people are always bending the rules to work for them.  Accounting is all rules and a thousand exceptions so this is where we need to be.

Our guarantee also separates us from the masses.  Pay us what the perceived value of the work is.  Our guarantee shows our confidence in meeting or exceeding our client’s expectations. 

One of our mottos is “we provide solutions not excuses.”  Rather than saying no it can’t be done, lets figure out how to do it!

What type of accounting do you offer?

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA – My first answer is we do the type of accounting you need, customized to fit your business.  Tax services seem to dominate the minds of many business owners since it happens every year.  Every business requires an annual tax return or the income can be included in your individual return annually.  Planning can be a year round activity to regulate and bring the unexpected into focus.  Consulting with business owners on their accounting is also an ongoing event – once the account is reconciled, the interpretation begins.  Making sure the ownership understands the result and how it occurred is important.

 There are several levels of financial reporting a CPA can perform. The first and most prevalent is the compilation.  The next level is review and the highest level of reporting is the audit.  Banks and third party users are namely the reason companies are required to issue financial statements for other than their own use. Sometimes disclosures are required on all three levels of reports to highlight and better explain significant parts of the financials.  A public company notes can go on for fifty to one hundred pages in some cases, likely three to six for most small companies.  The basic cost for financial statements are – a review costs twice the price of a compilation and an audit normally twice the price of a review.  Make sure your accountant is qualified to issue an opinion if needed.  I recall a recent experience in which a banker shared with me that the bank received an opinion from a bookkeeper.  Only CPAs are able to issue opinions on financials.  The bank was misled which could have caused issues for both the company and the bank.

By:  Stephen C. Williams, CPA – Partner

How does technology impact our accounting?

RANCHO CUCAMONGA, CA  Technology is at the forefront in accounting.  Most everything is computerized today.  Basic transactions can still be handled manually but anything with volume warrants automation.  There are good inexpensive programs available to business owners today.  QuickBooks seems to be the software of choice for small business today.  I would estimate that 80% of our clients use this software.  It is not expensive and is easy to use.  Automation should be at the top of the list for a new small business to invest in.  Accounting problems and lack of documentation is much more prevalent when automation is not used.  The gaps and holes appear and time has a way of making everything blurry.  The set-up means everything in accounting and having an accountants perspective on this can make things easier as the business moves forward.

 Too much detail will bog down the process.  I tell business owners that a one page summary is easier to interpret than a 10 page one.  Since most of us will not spend a lot of time in accounting we want the most information in the shortest time period.  On the contrary there can also be too much automation too soon.  An expensive software and computer system may be too much for a small business that is not ready to utilize it.  We must try to look ahead but not lose sight of what has occurred.

You don’t have to be in Rancho Cucamonga, the Inland Empire or even Southern California to be helped.   GYL Decauwer LLP has clients all over the United States.

By:  Stephen C. Williams, CPA – Partner

Why is Accounting Important to Me?

A business owners’ accounting is the fuel that keeps the engine running. Not understanding profit and cash flow can fatally injure a business and has injured many since it is optional and not required. Accounting is put off and ignored by many and there are lessons to be learned if we look at the numbers.

We all have an emotional bond with our business numbers. An accountant takes the emotion out and forces us to look at reality. Since none of us like change and many do not understand accounting, this can lead to failure to take action on a timely basis.

A business that has declining revenue normally has a hard time decreasing variable costs fast enough to keep pace with the declining revenue, accelerating the loss in many cases. Looking at profitability per client is also an interesting exercise. Some clients take more resources than others, thus costing more to maintain.

Lifetime value of a customer is another important subject. If the average accounting firm client stays 7 years and the annual revenue is $5,000 that client has a lifetime value of $35,000, which would be looked at differently than the $5,000 alone. Another important accounting related item you should know about your business is what are your key performance indicators? The things that indicate health or lack thereof. If our firm’s average billable rate is increasing we are becoming more efficient. If the opposite, then why, and what can be done about it. Each business has its own set of KPIs, all businesses need to know their numbers, as there is a saying “we can only manage what we can measure!”

By:  Stephen C. Williams, CPA – Partner

By:  Stephen C. Williams, CPA – Partner

Accounting is a personalized service similar to a finger print with no two being exactly alike.  The client can greatly influence cost by their internal capabilities and willingness to simplify or complicate the job at hand.

My view with accounting is usually less is more.  Fewer general ledger accounts mean less reconciliation and categorization which also can translate to cost.  Accountants must also factor risk into the equation.  In times like these there is a propensity for suing accountants in today’s world.  There is a debate at times if accounting is a science or an art.  My view lies in the art side as there are many rules but an ever greater number of exceptions.  If you’re not playing in this area then you are not fully engaged.  Intent has a great deal of influence in tax law – additionally ordinary and necessary can be truly different for each business.

Since we guarantee our clients’ satisfaction we try to take the risk away from this question.

Ultimately a client greatly influences the final product by how much contribution they can provide coming from their internal capabilities.  We only do what the client cannot or chooses not to do.

By:  Stephen C. Williams, CPA

This can be as mysterious as the complexity of accounting itself.  Many times I think the attitude is “they know more than I do so they are hired” – only when resources are needed is it apparent more expertise is needed.  Many times a small business will choose a small accounting firm, which is fine.  The problems start when the business grows but the accounting firm does not, we see this frequently in our interactions.  Businesses must not be afraid to change their accountant when they see they are outgrowing their accountant.  Asking other business owners you trust is a good place to start.  Asking an accountant a few simple questions to ask an accountant can also be helpful.

 1)      Who handles my account when you are gone or not available?

2)      Do you have a network of professionals for things beyond your expertise?

3)      What type and size of clients do you work with?

4)      Do you guarantee anything about your service?

5)      Ask to speak to clients they feel would be similar to you that they serve.

By:  Stephen Williams, CPA

Accounting is the management and flow of numbers that support transactions.  These numbers can then be used to evaluate events and time periods for trends and interpretations. 

Understanding the relationships of numbers can be the difference between success and failure of an endeavor.  Simply stated income over expenses equals profit.  However, this in itself does not necessarily mean victory.  If we are fortunate enough to make profit we then have to be able to collect it (cash flow).  Once collected we then need to determine an advantageous way to extract this profit. 

Not doing our accounting consistently or not paying attention to it can be destructive.  Activity does not mean effectiveness.  Large sales volume can mean large losses if not watched and controlled. 

Accounting is a language and discipline not understood by many.  This mystery keeps accountants in demand and business owners seeking to understand.

Financial markets are continually driven by this science.  Good numbers usually dictate good results while poor numbers inevitably point to downward movements.

What frustrates us can also enlighten our perspective.  As the saying goes numbers do not lie.