GIVING MEANING TO BEING UNIQUE

Webster’s Dictionary defines the word "unique" as "being the only one, being without a like or equal, very rare or uncommon". While saying you are unique, being unique is profoundly different. At CARLOZO & COMPANY, we take great pride in being "different" as this was a building block in our formation as spelled out in our MISSION STATEMENT.

DISTINGUISHED HISTORY, TRADITION AND EXPERIENCE

With a distinguished history, tradition and experience of servicing a broad spectrum of Owner/Operators going back to 1978, CARLOZO & COMPANY understands your business and the challenges you face in today’s fast-paced business world. We take great pride in being an integral part of your working relationship with the McDonald’s Corporation.

BROAD BACKGROUND

While our McDonald’s industry experience is clearly important to you as an Owner/Operator, perhaps even more important is that CARLOZO & COMPANY has a broad background in business consulting and servicing numerous other industries. These factors bring a unique perspective and value to the table which is not readily apparent. This combined with over 20 years of financial planning experience coordinates our recommendations which take into account your business and personal financial goals.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

Regardless of new concepts that may arise in the marketplace for the rendering of professional services, some laws stand the test of time and cannot be changed. In that regard, the relationship that you have with your CPA firm and their representatives, will be at the foundation of any engagement. Accordingly, in choosing a CPA firm to represent you, while the service is important, the working relationship is a key. Keeping that in mind, we suggest that you ask yourself the following 4 simple questions in the decision making process:

1. Is the firm, and their representatives, independent in fact and appearance in representing your best interests?

2. If and when you find yourself in a situation in which you need an advocate, do you see the firm and their representatives tenaciously defending your rights and looking out for your best interests?

3. How committed are you to having a mutually beneficial working relationship with your CPA firm and their representatives and are you willing to practice "effective 2-way communication" as a part of that relationship?

4. Do you want a CPA firm or do you want a bookkeeper?

INVOLVEMENT IN ACCOUNTING MATTERS

In choosing a CPA firm, you need to realize just how important your involvement is in accomplishing your financial goals and objectives. It has been our experience over a 29 year span that the most successful Owner/Operators are those that "Get Involved and Stay Involved in Accounting Matters". Does this mean more work for you as an Owner/Operator? Not necessarily, but it does mean an open line of communication is critical and that communication line must go "both ways". We find time-and-time again that the results derived are in direct proportion to the effort and involvement of the Owner/Operator.

UTILIZING DATABASE AND COMPARISON BENCHMARKS

CARLOZO & COMPANY was on the forefront of the development by McDonald’s of FFS Reporting with its implementation in 1994. As one of 15 select CPA firms from all over the country, we were invited to Hamburger University in Oak Brook IL. Quickly, we became aware of the power of the database maintained by McDonald’s FFS consisting of free standing, highway, oil alliance, and SPOD locations. While we transmit your financial information on a monthly basis to McDonald’s via FFS, it is strictly confidential and not shared with anyone else for any type of database. While you can certainly look to other stores as a benchmark or source of comparison, and while each store shares "The Golden Arches", each store is in fact unique in size, location, rent structure, etc. Perhaps even more important, is that each Owner/Operator is also unique, and we thus believe the most beneficial comparison is "you vs. you". In other words, your store might be at the top end when comparing it to other stores, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have done your best job as the Owner/Operator. You may in fact be capable of much more. As the poet Robert Browning once said, "You’re either getting better or worse at something. There’s no such thing as staying the same. In order to get better a man must reach beyond his grasp." In comparing "you vs. you", it is critical to utilize monthly budgets vs. actual, current vs. prior year and trailing 12 month reporting. All of these reports are provided at no extra charge to our Owner/Operator clients.

UNDERSTANDING RATIOS

You don’t have to go very far to hear "all the buzz" about financial ratios. Unfortunately, a computer print-out of ratios without considering trends not to mention having a dialogue between the CPA firm and the Owner/Operator, is of relatively little use. If you want to talk ratios, let’s consider the relationship between the P & L and often ignored and "unappreciated" balance sheet. And what about the factors which show up on the statement of cash flows such as fixed asset acquisitions and operator withdrawals which affect the ratios. Keeping all this in mind, we developed a tool which not only illustrates the relationship between the P & L, balance sheet and corresponding ratios. But it doesn’t stop there; the tool we’ve developed is able to project out the ratios. We call this tool MaxCashFlow and it’s absolutely free to our Owner/Operator clients and is unlike anything else in the marketplace.

ACCOUNTING STAFF

The accounting staff that you will work with in addition to the Partner-In-Charge is extremely important when choosing a CPA firm. At CARLOZO & COMPANY we are very proud our staff which we consider second to none. All of our accounting staff has at least 10 yeas of accounting experience and all are trained intensely in the servicing of McDonald’s accounts.

PRACTICE CONTINUATION AGREEMENT

Let’s say that you’ve reached the final stage of making your decision on selecting a CPA firm. If you are considering a firm with multiple partners, does the firm have a shareholders agreement in the event of a partner dispute, death, disability or voluntary withdrawal? In the case of voluntary withdrawal, is there a "Covenant Not to Compete" which would preclude the Partner-In-Charge from "taking" your account with him or her should they leave the firm? Does the firm have a policy for the merger of a smaller firm within the existing firm or the existing firm into a larger firm? In the case of the latter, what guarantees if any can be made regarding fee increases should you suddenly find yourself being serviced by a national CPA firm? What are the retirement intentions of the Partner-In-Charge and how will your account be handled upon his or her retirement? Does the firm have a funded or unfunded retirement agreement? If the firm does not have multiple partners, is there a Practice Continuation Agreement in place? How does it work? These are difficult questions which you as a client have the right to ask and we are move than happy to address them with you.

US vs. THEM – THE DEFINING DIFFERENCE

While admittedly our pride can at times tempt us to answer the question of “how many McDonald’s Owner/Operators we represent”, thankfully, our humility has taught us that our clients are much more than a number or a statistic. Numbers you see, have not, can not and will not measure the heart of any service provider. As a client of C & C, you become part of our family and that is something which is unable to be duplicated, and truly makes us unique in the marketplace.

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