Moore Colson’s Consulting Practice Releases its 2021 Mid-Year Highlights
Friends,
We hope your year is off to a great start. This year, Moore Colson is celebrating our 40th anniversary. Since opening our doors in 1981, we’ve had the privilege of working with countless dedicated team members, clients and friends of the firm. In honor of the contributions these individuals have made to the success of our firm and the support we’ve had from the Atlanta community, we are celebrating our 40th anniversary with an initiative to give back to local non-profit organizations. We invite you to learn more about our 40th anniversary on our website.
In the first half of 2021, our Consulting practice continued to grow and service our clients at the highest possible level. As you will see from some of the examples we share below, we continue to provide value-added service to clients across a myriad of industries and in a wide variety of circumstances. All our consulting professionals are dedicated to providing these services on a full-time basis, so regardless of the season, our team is ready to assist you when called upon. We greatly appreciate the trust and confidence all of you have in our consulting team and our firm, and we look forward to working with you in the second half of 2021.
Meet Our New Consulting Partner:
Robin Samples, CPA
Moore Colson recently announced the addition of Robin Samples, CPA, as a transaction services partner in Moore Colson’s Consulting Practice. Robin brings over 20 years of experience working in financial advisory, mergers and acquisitions, and restructuring.
We are excited to welcome Robin and look forward to her bringing her extensive experience to assist Moore Colson clients.
Mid-Year Review: Engagement Highlights
Moore Colson Consulting is comprised of two distinct practice areas:
- Transaction Services offering buy-side and sell-side due diligence/quality of earnings analysis.
- Special Services offering turnaround and restructuring, interim management, forensic accounting, litigation support, debt advisory, mediation and arbitration, lender services, and court and estate fiduciary, among others.
Below is a selection of engagement highlights from both practice areas in the first half of 2021.
Transaction Services
Transaction Services Engagement #1: Buy-side
Overview:
We performed buy-side due diligence on a $30 million revenue, Utah-based company in the construction industry.
What made this engagement particularly interesting?
The purchasing company was experiencing challenges reviewing historical monthly financials as the reported revenues were based on cash receipts versus invoicing.
How we added more value:
Our team provided the necessary accounting due diligence to convert monthly financials to a full accrual presentation so that our client could better understand the drivers of the target company’s EBITDA.
Transaction Services Engagement #2: Sell-side
Overview:
We performed sell-side due diligence on a $35 million revenue company headquartered in the Midwest in the professional services industry.
What made this engagement particularly interesting?
The owner/founder was approached by a group that was rolling up the industry niche in which he operated. The buying group made him an offer to acquire a controlling interest in his company for cash with 30% of the price contingent on the company’s future performance. He needed a trusted advisor to help him evaluate the opportunity.
How we added more value:
Moore Colson performed a sell-side quality of earnings (QoE) analysis, which revealed adjustments increasing EBITDA by 15%. We assisted the owner with his negotiations resulting in a 20% increase in the purchase price with no contingency.
Transaction Services Engagement #3: Buy-Side
Overview:
We performed buy-side due diligence on a $20 million revenue company headquartered in the Midwest in the medical supply industry.
What made this engagement particularly interesting? The client was having a difficult time calculating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the target company’s revenues.
How we added more value:
Our Transaction Services team calculated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the company’s revenue and disclosed this information to our client. Our client was then able to move forward with its negotiations with a greater understanding of the target company’s underlying financial performance.
Transaction Services Engagement #4: Buy-Side
Overview:
We performed buy-side due diligence on a $6 million revenue luxury rental property management company in the Northeast. The transaction also included a separate legal entity that was based in a French territory island.
What made this engagement particularly interesting?
The target had never consolidated financial statement activities of the two entities within the historical performance evaluation period for the transaction. Further, the target’s business had remained shut down as the French government completely closed off the island to visitors.
How we added more value:
We identified over 13 adjustments, including a pro forma adjustment for lost business due to COVID-19, which accounted for a positive $600,000 of earnings. We also calculated an appropriate balance for working capital, allowing our client to better understand the true working capital requirements of the business, thus paying a fair amount for assets in the U.S. and the French territory.
Special Services
Special Services Engagement #1: Interim Crisis Management
Overview:
We provided interim crisis management services for a Georgia-based life settlements company.
What made this engagement particularly interesting?
The client engaged Moore Colson after the company's leader passed away unexpectedly. There was a need for senior leadership to address the crisis and overall declining performance.
How we added more value:
Our Special Services team began operating the company and immediately focused on cash. We scrubbed expenses and reduced costs at all levels to try to right-size expenses with declining revenues due to weak industry fundamentals. During this time, Moore Colson also administered an existing Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan and helped the company obtain a second PPP loan to provide much-needed liquidity. Additionally, we helped improve their accounting functions to provide more timely financial and operational data.
Special Services Engagement #2: Forensic Investigation
Overview: We conducted an internal investigation following allegations of employee theft for a non-profit organization headquartered in Georgia. We also assisted the company with preparing its insurance claim for recovery.
What made this engagement particularly interesting? An employee in the accounting department at the non-profit organization utilized the organization's corporate credit card for personal expenses over seven years.
How we added more value:
Moore Colson conducted an internal investigation and assisted the organization with a claim for recovery from its insurance carrier. In addition, the results from Moore Colson's investigation were shared with the appropriate authorities for potential criminal prosecution of the former employee.
Special Services Engagement #3: Capital Advisory | Branding
Overview:
We provided capital advisory and branding consulting for a Florida-based client looking to enter the convenience store industry.
What made this engagement particularly interesting?
The client was considering acquiring numerous gas stations in and around Florida, which included a rebuild/refresh of each location and a rollout plan. They needed assistance in reviewing financial projections in preparation for presentations with investors.
How we added more value:
After Moore Colson evaluated the client’s projections, we surveyed the client’s current pitch presentation and advised that the presentation needed to be professionally designed to attract interest. Our consulting team provided branding services in order to elevate the proposal and engaged our marketing experts to provide logo and color palette options. Once the branding was in place, the presentation was completely reworked to include verifiable financials and on-brand visuals that inspired trust from the audience.
Talk to an Expert:
If you are in need of Transaction Services or Special Services from our Consulting Team, we would appreciate the opportunity to pull our team together to host a virtual meeting or in-person chat. As described in our recent engagements, our team of experts is available to assist with a wide variety of services. We look forward to continuing to work with you in the second half of 2021.
