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OUR EXPERTISE
To learn more about our Holisitc Business Planning in detail download our full brochure.
We work with CPAs, Business Owners, Executives and Employees at all levels to structure and implement plans that seek to keep employees incentivized and motivated to help the business continue to flourish. Our clients tell us they want to build relationships with real people where they receive outstanding personal attention. They don’t want to be a number in a corporate structure, or deal with excessive bureaucracy. We can ensure that you develop actual relationships with real people.
We provide individuals and business owners with proactive and holistic planning services. Rather than clients receiving disjointed advice from multiple independent advisors, we bring all of the necessary professionals together to work as one TEAM, essentially providing a “one-stop-shop” for all business planning needs. As a result, our clients are able to strive to reach their personal and professional goals in a more efficient and enjoyable process.
THE PROBLEM TODAY FOR CPAS
The economic conditions over the last 5-10 years has placed a serious demand for CPAs to become much more proactive and act as the “trusted business advisor” for their clients. The majority of CPAs are not able to keep up with these shifting demands in addition to all of the tax laws changes. As a CPA Team Based Model Consultant, my team and I seek to help with this new reality.
Increase Their Revenue Per Client While Keeping Their Work Load The Same
Reduce The Risks That Come From Referring Clients To Other Advisors
Expand Their “Brain-Trust” By Working With Some Of The Country’s Best Specialists
Expand Their “Brain-Trust” By Working With Some Of The Country’s Best Specialists
Add Significantly More Value To Their Clients By Providing More Proactive Planning
Increase Up To 50% In Revenue With Advanced Tax Planning Techniques That Are Not Available To Most Cpas
It is obviously unrealistic for one professional to be responsible for all this knowledge and work. We have found that most CPAs would like to help their clients more, but either do not have the time or anyone they can trust to collaborate with. Breakwater Capital aims to change this by helping CPAs switch from a referral method to a team-based model.
When a client has a special need or opportunity that the CPA does not specialize in another expert would need to join the fold. However, most CPAs are hesitant to do this because it creates a liability for them. How can they be sure the professional they are referring their client to will act in their best interest and represent the CPA in a positive light? Furthermore, they would need to create and maintain many different relationships which creates an even bigger time drain for the CPA. It is not a very efficient model for the practice even if it would be greatly beneficial to the clients.
In our Team Based Model the CPA retains control over the entire process. We act as a “one-stop-shop” for the CPA by providing a concierge service to some of the best specialists in the country. We work with the CPA to educate and discover opportunities, then provide access to very valuable resources that specific client situations call for. This allows the CPA to focus on the core services of their practice while creating immense additional value for their clients.
Business exit/succession planning helps business owners develop an exit strategy to maximize their after-tax cash proceeds while meeting non-financial objectives. Succession and exit planning strategies will vary based on the particulars of the business (size, industry, management structure, and cash flow), the state of the economy, the M&A market, and personal objectives of the business owner.
Our specialists will work with businesses of all sizes – ranging from those with less than $1,000,000 in revenue to those with sales in excess of $100,000,000.
A buy/sell agreement is a legally binding agreement between co-owners of a business that governs the situation if a co-owner dies or is otherwise forced to leave the business, or chooses to leave the business. It may be thought of as a sort of premarital agreement between business partners/shareholders or is sometimes called a “business will”. An insured buy/sell agreement (triggered buyout is funded with life insurance on the participating owners’ lives) is often recommended by business-succession specialists and financial planners to ensure that the buy/sell arrangement is well funded and to guarantee that there will be money when the buy/sell event is triggered
An ESOP is a type of qualified, defined contribution plan designed to invest primarily in the stock of the sponsoring employer. ESOPs are “qualified” in the sense that the ESOP’s sponsoring company, the selling shareholder and participants receive various tax benefits. ESOPs are often used as a corporate finance strategy to create a liquid marketplace for closely held stock which provides a viable tax advantaged exit strategy for shareholders under Section 1042. A common misconception is that by installing an ESOP an owner has to give up control of their company to their employees, which isn’t the case. A properly structured ESOP allows an owner to sell some or all of their privately held stock, creating liquidity, while still maintaining 100% control of the company.
Estate planning is the process of anticipating and arranging, during a person’s life, for the disposal of their estate. Estate planning can be used to eliminate uncertainties over the administration of a probate and to maximize the value of the estate by reducing taxes and other expenses. The ultimate goal of estate planning can be determined by the specific goals of the client, and may be as simple or complex as the client’s needs dictate. Guardians are often designated for minor children and beneficiaries in incapacity.
Premium financing involves the lending of funds to a person or company to cover the cost of an insurance premium. Premium finance loans are often provided either by banks or by third party finance entities known as a premium financing company. Typically, clients that engage in this transaction range in age from 29 to 75; with a net worth of $3,000,000 or greater. Younger clients benefit in the current environment due to the advent of premium financed indexed universal life (IUL) policies. The growth inside IUL policies often exceed the interest rates charged on the loan resulting in a positive arbitrage.Premium financed policies can be used in a number of ways, including: As a buy/sell agreement; As part of a Gifting Strategy (Leveraged Gifting); Inside an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (Leveraged ESOP); Inside an Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust to mitigate estate taxes upon death
Asset valuation is commonly performed prior to the sale of an asset or prior to purchasing insurance for an asset. It is simply a method of assessing the worth of a company, real estate, security, antique or other item of worth, and may consist of both subjective and objective measurements. For example, in valuing a company, there is no number on the company’s financial statements that tells how much its brand name is worth. On the other hand, net profit is an objective measurement based on the company’s income and expense figures. The value, complexity, and future plans of an asset should be taken into account when considering whether to hire a general valuator who will give you a rough estimate, or a specialist whose results will be well researched and verifiable.
As the business grows and becomes more profitable, complexity becomes in issue. We aim to employ tactics that ensure the business is running as efficiently as possibleby lowering costs and taxes wherever possible.
Almost every business has key employees who are essential to its overall success. A key employee can be anyone who, among other things, is responsible for management decisions, is highly paid or has a significant impact on sales. This employee could be the owner of the business or an employee whose services or knowledge are crucial to the business and costly to replace. If a key employee quits or passes unexpectedly, replacing his or her knowledge, experience and potential loss of earnings can be costly, time-consuming and sometimes fatal to a business. Key person insurance is used to protect a business against the financial loss sustained by the death of an individual who is vital to the success of the business.
Executive Bonus Arrangements are used by businesses to supplement existing qualified plans and provide additional benefits to key personnel and highly compensated employees. When key executives are presented with a strong monetary incentive package, they are more likely to stay and utilize their talents where they feel appreciated and appropriately rewarded. Well-structured incentive plans can help keep key executives in place and motivate them to higher levels of performance. In small businesses, these plans usually include the owner & founder.
In their simplest form, Qualified Plans are plans that meet specific requirements of the Internal Revenue Code, and as a result, are eligible to receive certain tax benefits. There are two types of qualified plans – defined-benefit plans and defined-contribution plans (such as 401ks and profit sharing plans). A defined benefit plan is “defined” in the sense that the benefit formula is specified and known in advance. Conversely, for a “defined contribution pension plan”, the formula for computing the employer’s and employee’s contributions is defined and known in advance, but the benefit to be paid out is not known in advance.
Finding quality employees is half the challenge. Keeping them – and keeping them well motivated – is the other half, especially in today’s tight labor market. One way to do that is to provide competitive benefits. We can help you establish a creative employee benefit package to help your business attract and retain your key asset, the employees. This can include a combination of the following benefits: • Health Insurance • Term & Permanent Life Insurance • Disability Insurance • Long Term Care Insurance • Dental & Vision Packages If you already have a plan in place, we can conduct a review to make sure the business is getting the most competitive rates possible for the benefits provided.
Almost every business has key employees who are essential to its overall success. A key employee can be anyone who, among other things, is responsible for management decisions, is highly paid or has a significant impact on sales. This employee couldOur HR Support Center provides access to exclusive, industry leading HR tools and resources. Easily manage employee benefits, onboarding, offboarding, and open enrollment – all one easy to use platform. No more paper forms, signing, scanning or faxing. Everything is managed online in an easy to use platform that we provide at no cost depending on our clients’ specific needs. be the owner of the business or an employee whose services or knowledge are crucial to the business and costly to replace. If a key employee quits or passes unexpectedly, replacing his or her knowledge, experience and potential loss of earnings can be costly, time-consuming and sometimes fatal to a business. Key person insurance is used to protect a business against the financial loss sustained by the death of an individual who is vital to the success of the business.
Business exit/succession planning helps business owners develop an exit strategy to maximize their after-tax cash proceeds while meeting non-financial objectives. Succession and exit planning strategies will vary based on the particulars of the business (size, industry, management structure, and cash flow), the state of the economy, the M&A market, and personal objectives of the business owner.
Our specialists will work with businesses of all sizes – ranging from those with less than $1,000,000 in revenue to those with sales in excess of $100,000,000.
WORKING WITH CPAS
How we work to help your practice grow and provide your clients with powerful resources
We share proprietary software designed to uncover client needs & opportunities. Simply send to your client or fill out yourself. The information will be your eyes only and only utilized for diagnosis purposes. We will NOT have access to your clients’ information unless you want to share it.
How we can best educate the strategy and communicate value to the client. Some CPAs want to maintain complete control, however our experts are always at your disposal to assist in client meetings.
Assist in facilitating every aspect of the plan being set in motion. Our back office can make the process as simple as possible as we communicate with the client & CPA each step of the way.
As time goes on, there may be changes or necessary upkeep to maintain the effectiveness of the plan. We are always available to the CPA & client if any future needs occur.
9940 Research Dr. Suite 200
Irvine, CA 92618
Real Estate / 1031 Risk Disclosure: • There is no guarantee that any strategy will be successful or achieve investment objectives; Potential for property value loss – All real estate investments have the potential to lose value during the life of the investments; Change of tax status – The income stream and depreciation schedule for any investment property may affect the property owner’s income bracket and/or tax status. An unfavorable tax ruling may cancel deferral of capital gains and result in immediate tax liabilities; Potential for foreclosure – All financed real estate investments have potential for foreclosure; • Illiquidity –These assets are commonly offered through private placement offerings and are illiquid securities. There is no secondary market for these investments; Reduction or Elimination of Monthly Cash Flow Distributions – Like any investment in real estate, if a property unexpectedly loses tenants or sustains substantial damage, there is potential for suspension of cash flow distributions; Impact of fees/expenses – Costs associated with the transaction may impact investors’ returns and may outweigh the tax benefits. Stated tax benefits – Any stated tax benefits are not guaranteed and are subject to changes in the tax code. Speak to your tax professional prior to investing.
All investing involves risk of loss of some or all principal invested. Past performance is not indicative of future performance. There can be no guarantee that any investment or strategy will achieve its stated objectives. Speak to your tax and/or financial professional prior to investing. Securities and advisory services through Emerson Equity LLC, member FINRA and SIPC and a registered investment adviser. Emerson is not affiliated with any other entity identified herein.
