Whether you own a creative agency and oversee operations or you are an operations professional of an agency, I’m certain there are many questions you are plagued with daily. Do we need to hire more people? What kind of skills will those people need? When do we hire them? Will we still have the money to make this hire if we don’t get our next pending contract? Without data, operations professionals are tempted to make gut decisions in order to answer these questions. Sometimes, you may answer those questions correctly. Other times, you may end up making a mistake. That’s why marketing agencies ..read more

Why is Vendor Risk Management (VRM) important for businesses in today’s digital landscape? The answer lies in the increasing number of cyber threats and the potential consequences they can have on organizations. When businesses work with third-party vendors, they introduce additional risk factors into their cybersecurity environment. Without a robust VRM policy in place, these risks can lead to devastating outcomes such as data breaches or the inadvertent delivery of malicious software.  Real-World Consequences of Third-Party Vendor Cybersecurity Risks  Unsecured third-party relation ..read more

4/30 is the new 4/20. We’ve been predicting an April announcement, to allow for plenty of time for the process to be completed before the election, and the reschedule is right on schedule. This is fantastic news, and there have been lots of long-awaited celebrations across the industry.  Now that we know that 2024 is likely the year, we’ve got to get into the weeds to understand the exact timing of the reschedule, as well as when 280E will go away – and an estimated two billion dollars will come pouring back into the industry’s balance sheets. For more on the reschedule timing, check out ..read more

In this not-to-be missed episode, Guillermo connects with George Jage, Cofounder and CEO of MJ Unpacked—one of the industry’s most well-known and best-attended conferences. George discusses complexities of the cannabis industry, including pricing, profitability, and branding. The conversation details the evolution of cannabis consumption, the emergence of fast-acting products, and the significance of social settings in product development. Guillermo and George conclude with the challenges of advertising, the need for industry collaboration, and the potential effects of regulatory changes on i ..read more

When determining a business’s value, it may be tempting to turn to an industry valuation “rule of thumb” because it’s quick, easy to understand and inexpensive. Relying on an industry rule of thumb can lead to a significant over- or understated value, increasing the risk of poor and even costly decisions. Relying solely on a rule of thumb is one of the most common shortcuts untrained valuation practitioners use. In short, rules of thumb fail to reflect a business’s unique characteristics. What are Valuation Rules of Thumb? Rules of thumb in the context of business valuation, such as applying a ..read more

Wednesday, June 5 at 10:00 am CT Join advisors from the Startup and Entrepreneurial Services team to discuss findings from the inaugural Anders Startup Funding and Outlook Survey Report  The St. Louis startup community is growing, putting the region on track to become another powerful startup hub for the country. To continue that trajectory, it’s essential to check in on the startup ecosystem to help determine if pain points have developed into larger obstacles that impede the region’s growth. The Anders Startup Funding and Outlook Survey Report polled area startups and funding sources t ..read more

The cannabis industry is at a very critical point as the recommendation and legal procedures needed to reschedule marijuana could have a massive impact on the taxation and profitability of legal cannabis. The biggest challenges for most small and independent industry players are taxation and competition, with most finding it tough to get out of the 1-3 year start-up phase. We recently sat down with Aaron Smith, cannabis policy expert and founder of the National Cannabis Industry Association (NCIA), to learn more about what implications this rescheduling could have for small and independent can ..read more

Jeanne Dee, CPA/CGMA, audit and assurance partner at Anders, will be honored by the University of Missouri – St. Louis at the Salute to Business Achievement Awards. The award recognizes UMSL Business graduates who’ve made outstanding contributions to their community, profession and the university. Honorees are selected by leadership in the College of Business and the Alumni Association’s College of Business Alumni Chapter. Once inducted, each honoree will be added to the Salute to Business Circle of Excellence, which includes 82 past award recipients. The annual awards presentation is hosted b ..read more

Thursday, June 27 The post Counting on Your Future: Exploring the World of Accounting and Advisory appeared first on Anders CPA ..read more

As a service-based profession, law firms have to keep a careful eye on their production metrics: That means understanding how busy their people are but also how efficient. Under the umbrella of production metrics, we have several Key Performance Indicators that partners can use to gauge the success of their firm at any point in time. But we refer to them as ‘levers,’ because we want to empower firm owners to think about the ways they can ‘pull’ these non-financial metrics to boost their profitability. Let’s take a look at how production metrics work, as they relate to hourly billing firms. Lev ..read more