Family offices · 3 min read · Published
Family office accounting without a family office
By Chris Greco, Founder and President.
A family with two operating companies, some real estate and a few trusts does not need a family office. It needs one set of books per entity, closed on one calendar, consolidated monthly, with bills paid through a single approval flow. That is an accounting function, and it can be outsourced.
The usual state: four bookkeepers, four methods, intercompany loans nobody documented, K-1s in March because the entity books close in March, and a CPA who is the only person with the whole picture.
Twelve weeks in, a family like that has one monthly package covering every entity, a family balance sheet, bill pay with written approvals, and a quarterly meeting with numbers that non-accountants can read.
Where this applies
Chris Greco
Founder and President, CFO Anywhere. CFO for owner-led companies since 2002. Executive MBA, Gies College of Business, University of Illinois.
About ChrisMore from Chris
Running the business · 2 min read
What we usually see when the bookkeeper quits in October
When the bookkeeper quits in October, the company faces a Q4 close, year-end, 1099s and W-2s with nobody in the seat. The first week matters more than the hiring decision.
By industry · 4 min read
What we usually see when a dealer adds a second rooftop
When a dealer adds a second rooftop, the owner is the only person who understands both stores' numbers and is on the lot all day. The factory statement gets done late by someone who does not reconcile floor plan to inventory. Departmental profit exists on paper and not in decisions.
Banking and lending · 4 min read
What a buyer will find in your books, and what to fix first
A buyer will find three things in your books before they find anything else: add-backs tangled into the P&L, a working-capital level nobody has measured, and receivables or inventory they will discount. Fix them in that order; each one moves the price.