Robert C. Alario, President, Robert C. Alario CPAs PC, Leominster and Worcester
September 1, 2014
Q&A with Robert C. Alario, President of Robert C. Alario CPAs
By Rick Saia
What are the two or three biggest reasons businesses come to you for help?
Probably the No. 1 reason is to minimize their taxes. Second is to make sure that they have proper books and records to manage their business. And third is to have a confidant that they can turn to help them reach their goals.
Some of the advice you offer focuses on the legal structure of a business, especially for people who want to start their own. Is that easy to explain to them?
Generally yes. Since I’ve been doing it for so long, I have the spiel down fairly well and it also fits what their goals are with their business — sometimes in terms of what type of corporate entity or LLC entity they should be.
Are businesses starting to take some of their cash off the sidelines and investing it?
We generally deal with small businesses. Our biggest client (has) probably $60 million in sales. My clients have been investing all the way through the recession. They held their cash, but they were doing fairly well, and they continued to invest through the recession.
Do you see investments increasing over the next two or three years?
From my clientele base, the answer would be “yes.” One of the most positive things I’m seeing is that manufacturing is making a slight comeback. My clients who are (in) manufacturing are bringing some stuff back from China or Mexico to be manufactured here in the United States. (And) the clients that have survived in manufacturing are buying out the ones that haven’t, so they’re becoming stronger.
What's the best advice you can give the owner of a family business who wants to sell outside the family?
To understand what he really wants: What is his reason for selling? What would make him sell? What would make him comfortable in selling? It’s sort of understanding the elephants in the room. What are those issues? And will he actually execute the plan? There is more emotion that goes with selling the family-run business than there is (to) the financial side of the equation. The financial side has to be taken care of or resolved. But the emotional part of it is the bigger of the two.
What's the most difficult conversation you've ever had with a client?
I would suspect the most difficult conversation I had is (with) a client (who) lost a ton of money in the stock market, and I was involved assisting him in picking his financial planner and that turned (out) to be a disaster. That was a real challenge because this particular individual wanted to be conservatively invested, and the broker did not do that.
What are the most important things a business owner should do to prepare for a CPA's audit?
Get the books and records in good shape. Prepare certain (documents) that we need prior to having us come in to do an audit. Ensure that accounting manuals are updated, prepared; that they follow their policies and procedures on their internal controls that they have in place; and (be ready to discuss) any issues that are keeping them up at night or that they’re concerned about.
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Q&A with Robert C. Alario, President, Robert C. Alario CPAs PC, Leominster and Worcester
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