When forming a business there are several entity choices, including corporation, partnership, and limited liability company. Each different type of entity will have a different effect on how a business is operated on a day-to-day basis from a taxation standpoint, and will create significantly different tax implications when it comes time to exit the business. We spend the necessary time up front in considering the type of business, its operational requirements, its funding needs, and the founders’ exit strategy to help our clients make the right choices for their particular situations. Once the entity is chosen, we coordinate the formation process with our clients and their legal counsel, and we monitor the process to ensure that all the necessary steps have been taken.

Year-end planning is inevitably tax driven, but we make sure that the drive for tax efficiency does not come at the expense of economic reality – such as a business’s ability to borrow funds or position itself for acquisition or public offering. We take the time to consider what is beneficial to the entity, the owners, and the key employees, while at the same time keeping the need for tax efficiency firmly in mind.

Large financial transactions require intelligent planning and foresight. Whether our clients are leasing equipment, raising capital or buying out a co-owner, we help ensure that they analyze the tax and economic consequences before they structure the deal.

We provide a full range of income tax services for corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and sole proprietorships, and also assist with sales, payroll, and business and property tax filings. We provide audit support in the event of governmental examinations by IRS, state or local government agencies.

We regularly consult with our clients about real estate matters such as purchases, sales, leases and tax-free exchanges. Because of our frequent dealings with real estate issues, we stay in touch with the latest market conditions and therefore can make informed recommendations. We also have extensive experience with contractors and banks, and often assist our clients with rehabilitations, tenant improvements, and new construction.

Because of our collective background in tax and business, we have a high degree of expertise in assisting clients in either buying or selling a business. We work alongside our clients to evaluate a business’s worth, identify the best tax structure for the transaction, conduct due diligence, and coordinate contract reviews with legal counsel. In many cases we take part in direct negotiations with the seller or buyer.

Closely held businesses often find that in order to survive, they need to grow. Growth generally necessitates establishing a relationship with a bank that understands and supports the business’s goals. For our clients with these needs, we assemble an accurate financial package, recommend the appropriate financing arrangements, present the package to the right people at the right bank, review the financing documents, and help foster a continuing banking relationship.

Our accounting and auditing services include audits, reviews, and compilations, along with forecasts and projections, business plan designs, and accounting transaction analysis. We also offer accounting systems services (initial design of accounting systems and subsequent maintenance, system analysis and selection).

Our service partnership approach to serving clients, combined with our many years of experience in serving a very diverse client base, has provided us with an insider’s perspective on all aspects of operating a closely held business. From analyzing the overall business structure, to creating employee compensation and incentive plans, to planning for and managing facility relocations, our experience and professional contacts make us a valuable resource to our clients.

Retirement plans for the owners and employees of closely held businesses have enormous tax and estate planning implications. We are knowledgeable in structuring qualified and non-qualified plans to obtain the desired results for the company, its owners, and employees. We work closely with a broad network of professionals to assist our clients in putting together the right plan for their business.

We view each client’s business as a very important asset in their family’s overall financial portfolio. As such, we believe that it is critical for our clients to plan to maximize the value of this asset within the context of their succession plan, or to protect the value of this asset from estate and gift taxes if the plan is to transfer it to their children. The sooner in the life cycle of the business that this planning process begins, the sooner the groundwork can be laid to carry out the plan. And because the short and long-term strategies for succession planning differ greatly depending on which exit strategy is contemplated (i.e. acquisition, initial public offering, internal buyout, transfer to children, etc.), we believe that business succession planning cannot begin early enough.

Why Bregante?

Bregante + Company LLP is solidly grounded in the fundamentals of traditional tax and accounting services, and we provide these services as a matter of course. However, we believe that our clients especially value our service partnership approach to advising them, and in particular our creative approach to helping protect their interests during certain critical transactions that call for skills outside their expertise. At Bregante, we consider and are able to consult with our clients during the entire life cycle of their businesses; from entity selection and formation to retirement and business succession planning, and everything in between. Whether a client has one small business or multiple entities involved in diverse business operations, we find that helping our clients to focus on long-term considerations and goals results in the most opportunity for success.

 

Every business client that is served by Bregante has a partner, a manager, and a staff person dedicated to their account year in and year out. We believe that there is distinct value in this continuity in that it enhances our ability to provide technically excellent and comprehensive compliance work and provides greater opportunity for us to “partner” with our clients in the operation of their businesses. This consistent and close working relationship with our clients enables us to help anticipate the opportunities and challenges of the financial operation of their businesses. Our clients spend more time focusing on what they love to do, and less time worrying about tax and accounting matters.