Rene Velez Accounting Tax and Consulting

Joining the ranks of many entreprenuers within the United States a Miami accountant, Rene Velez, has launched his own firm, RENE VELEZ Accounting, Tax & Consulting, catering to small to medium sized businesses within the local tri-county economy (Miami, Broward and Palm Beach). These businesses typically have less than $5 million in sales anually, have experienced significant growth and require a high touch approach towards their accounting, tax and business needs.

" My best client is one that knows thay have a viable business venture but realize they can no longer afford to manage their business by themselves. If they don't undersatnd the value of forming a realtionship with someone that is going to understand their business, understand their issues and concerns and assist them in acheiving their goals then we simply become another accounting and tax service provider. We hare happy to provide this service alone however, most business owners want more. The want to restructure debt, create a strategic plan, work less, attract new business, bring their business to the next level. Entreprenuers today define success not only by being profitable but by being able to establish a life style. The real challange is that as you grow that business you tend to get sucked into the machinery. What we can do is come in and give you some relief, pull you out of the machinery and develop a plan so that you can run the business without it neccesarily running you.

Most profitable small business owners know that having a business can really take over your life. It's like your success becomes your worst enemy. When the business starts to control you its usually a good sign that you need to change gears and bring that business to the next level. It's unfortunate that many small business owners panic and get out of business or sell out only to find themselves with asset value but no income stream. I should say this is what happens if they are lucky. For us it's a real challenge because helping them with these issues is like doing an overhaul on a race car while its going around the track at 120 mph. Definetly not for the typical CPA who may be a Guru in Accounting & Tax but may not understand the business, has not examined his own clients level of tolerance for risk, knows nothing about the industry or what the competition is doing, is not an operations oriented professional and in the end can not devote that much time to one client. The fact of the matter is we would love to work more with CPA's because we are not out to steal the client. We are more than happy having them be the auditors, accounting and tax experts and keep them on as long as they can be part of the solution. Often depending on the complexity of the business we have to bring in other professionals. It's in the best interest of the client."

Today's small business owners have changed significantly. More and more many are college graduates. Many with advanced degrees. The are knowledgeable and educated. This is a trend that is expected to continue. Many educated professionals are tired of the turmoil in corporate america. To many corporate america has failed to create stability and add quality of life. Too often you get pigeon holed, you could be a good employee for many years then find out you are out of a job because of a merger or acquisition. Few middle and upper management positions have tenure or some kind of golden parachute. This constant insecurity has made many go out and find greener pastures on their own. The Miami tri-county area is a prime example of this. In particular the hispanic community has been very succesful at starting and operting many small businesses. Statistically, around 78% of Miami businesses have 10 or fewer employees. As Rene Velez mentioned, "the hispanic culture is one of the fastest growing segments of our society. Every major corporation is looking at this market segment for future growth. Part of that culture defines success as going into business for yourself. I think it will be very interesting to see what happens in the future. The real trouble is there is no one secrete formula to define that market. In Miami you have so many different hispanic cultures you wind up with segments within a segment."

Changes within the accounting profession itself seems to underscore a great deal of potential for accountants. For the past ten years business schools have been turning out fewer accountants than before. In addition you have many senior level accountants who as part of the baby boomers are considering retiring. This will create a shortage of seasoned accounting professionals within the industry. Many within public accounting are looking to private industry as they have come to realize that public accounting leaves very little room for family life. In an industry which has seen a large influx of female professionals with the last two decades, accounting firms need to gear-up for a whole new way of compensating and retaining their most valuable assets. Rene Velez mentioned " the accounting industry as a whole really has done a poor job historically on two fronts. Although, I recognize they have tried they have not succeeded in positioning in the publics mind the value that accountants bring to the greatest economy in the world. The U.S. economy. I am not talking about your senior level CEO, I am talking about the view the average household has about accountants. We are still called bean counters, the guy that does our taxes. The average american doesn't know the difference between a bookkeeper and a true accountant or CPA. Lawyers by far are more successful in positioning their value and likewise command higher rates. Another issue is that the typical career path for accountants is exhaustingly long. In many mid sized public accounting firms 12, 15 years is not uncommon before you become a partner. Even then you are expected to bring in business before you are considered for partnership. For lawyers 7 to 10 year tracks are more the norm. The starting salary for accountants is about $50K for a green accountant CPA, but for a lawyer about $85 to $90K. Let me ask you if you are not paying these professionals well don't you think logically you have more chances for another Enron, WorldCom, Tyco? Most lawyers who are also CPA's will tell you the CPA exam was much more challenging than the Bar exam."

The Sarbanes Oxley Act has proven to be monumental in creating change within the accounting profession. In many ways it is amplifing other changes in the industry. Sarbanes Oxley has not only doubles the cost for many public company audits, it has created significant demands upon the accounting and internal audit functions of these companies. Often times creating a huge need for outside consultants. Creating shortages of qualified personnel both in private and public accounting. Even more so since this is new ground and few have the expertise and knowledge to address the relevant issues. Rene Velez explained. " SOX is a real challange for all companies. Its not like you can create a template of rules, policies and procedures and then braod brush it accross a spectrum of public companies. Each industry is different. What works for Automotive industry may not even apply to a technology or biomedical industry. What's more is that within a given industry there is a multitude of differences. It's not even that you can get to a point and say okay we have complied with SOX. Each year you have to take a new look to make sure you can prove you have systems and controls for what is happening in the company. You have to constantly be asking yourself what has changed?, what did we miss?, where can this go wrong? What's more is my feeling is SOX will find its way across a variety of businesses not yet addressed. Such as Non-Profits and private companies that get paid with public money. It's just a matter of time if not another pending disaster we have not read in the headlines as of today".

The accounting profession seems to be going through some rather distinct changes. Professionals such as Rene Velez have made a niche for themselves that seems to have longevity given a host of statistical and demographic factors. Sarbanes Oxley, demand for consultants and qualified accountants play into the hands of these professionals for hire. Perhaps the tied is changing and accountants will soon be billing as much as lawyers and will gain their rightful degree of presitige as we move closer to a true global economy. One thing is for sure these are complex issues. Accountants do play a significant role in our economy. As a profession they bring order to chaos and thay attest to the viability of financial information. Information which is used to make decisions on the degree of risk of a given venture. They help us draw a picture of what is good or bad of the giant and small businesses that make up our economy. They execute our tax code by providing tax services from research to preparing a tax return. They help small business owners manage their ventures and create wealth they help multinational conglomerates protect assets and disclose information useful to society in everything from environmental issues to determining stock values and protecting the public from crooks.