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Comprehensive services, extraordinary range.

Services include:
Tax Services
Accounting & Bookkeeping Services
Information Systems & Technology
Assurance & Business Advisory Services
Business Valuation Services
Litigation Support

Tax Services

A good tax accountant not only knows the tax law to achieve the lowest possible tax when preparing income tax returns on an annual basis, but he/she can help you plan to reduce your tax liabilities over your lifetime.  We have the expertise to work with you in a variety of tax planning and preparation situations.  Our objective is to analyze your individual situation so that we may determine the proper tax strategies to help you achieve your goals.

We can provide you with the following services:

Tax Projections
In order to make informed financial decisions and provide an opportunity to do tax planning, it is important to look at proposed transactions before they happen and to estimate their future income tax consequences.  We perform these "what if" tax projections for you and provide recommendations on planning alternatives to best suit your personal and business goals.

Tax Return Preparation
We prepare individual and entity income tax returns for federal and all state and local jurisdictions.  In addition to income tax returns, we prepare estate and gift tax returns for individuals.  As part of our preparation process we are looking for ways to maximize tax savings during the current and future years.  We will also advise you of changes in the law which affect your individual tax situation.

Entity Selection
Businesses can operate in a number of different entity forms.  Each form of operation has its own income tax implications.  The entity form best suited for your operations can change as the needs of the owners change over the life of the business.  Because each business is  different, we work with you to evaluate which form of entity best meets your goals and objectives.

Retirement & Distribution Analysis
Retirement planning consists of providing you with the options available for saving funds for your retirement and monitoring your progress toward this goal.  This requires knowledge of your retirement goals and periodic computations to determine if your goals can be met.  When retirement approaches, the focus shifts to distribution planning.  The tax law provides many options for distributing retirement funds.  We will help you understand your options, the related tax implications, and make recommendations consistent with your personal goals and objectives.

Estate & Gift Taxes
You will work a lifetime to build your estate.  Without proper planning, this hard work can be significantly eaten away by estate and inheritance taxes.  We will work with you, your attorney and other financial advisors to use provisions currently available in the estate and gift tax laws to minimize the future amount of estate and gift taxes that could be due at your death.

Small Business Transitions/Succession
Being able to successfully pass a business on to another family member or trusted employee is very difficult.  Many times the success of this transition/succession is critical to meeting your retirement or estate planning goals.  We will assist you in this planning process so the business will be properly and effectively transitioned to your successor.

College Financing Planning
Planning for college tuition for dependents involves many variables.  Some are your personal choices.  Others are financial, including tax-advantaged savings accounts, tax credits, and government programs.  We will help you determine the savings plan necessary to meet your personal goals and objectives and will advise you of the options available to save income taxes while paying for college costs.

Personal Financial Planning
This type of comprehensive wealth accumulation and preservation planning incorporates many of the above services - projections, retirement planning, and estate planning to name a few.  We work with you to create and monitor a plan that meets your long-term goals and objectives.  When necessary, we will coordinate the services of other members of your professional advisory team - legal, investment, insurance, etc.

Deferred Income & Taxes
Many assets have deferred income built into them due to appreciation or other reasons.  Our goal as tax accountants is to be aware of all of the client's assets, monitor the deferred income and related income taxes, and to assist you in planning for this delayed tax cost in meeting your long-term financial goals and objectives.

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Accounting & Bookkeeping Services

Small business owners and their managers are choosing to outsource some of the company administrative functions for the following reasons:

  • Hiring and keeping qualified accounting staff can be a challenge for small businesses.
  • Some functions, such as payroll and general ledger accounting, may exceed the training and/or ability of existing personnel.
  • Perhaps you don't want employees to have access to sensitive financial and payroll records.

We can provide the following services that can help you solve the accounting and payroll hassles in your business:

Full Service Bookkeeping
We can provide you with a full range of bookkeeping services customized to your specific needs.  Our staff can work either in our office or in your home or place of business.  Working with you, we can develop a reporting system that provides the type of information you need on an ongoing basis to run your business.  We also can prepare all payroll and sales tax returns and tell you the amount and due dates of payroll tax deposits.

Temporary Bookkeeping/Accounting
We can provide you with temporary bookkeeping and accounting assistance to support you when unscheduled absences of accounting personnel occur.  We often provide these services when a bookkeeper is gone unexpectedly.  Our staff temporarily helps fill this absence by working at your place of business.

Detailed "How To" Procedures
We can prepare detailed "How To" accounting and bookkeeping procedures for your staff.  This provides you and your managers, the confidence that your accounting system is documented and in place when training new staff.

Controllership Services
We will travel to your offices on a regular or as needed basis to perform routine accounting functions of your company.  This includes:

  • Preparation of management reports
  • Preparation of all payroll quarterly reports
  • Preparation of bank reconciliations
  • Consultation regarding the management of the assets of your company
  • Other services which you or your business may require

Information System Design & Controls
We can study your accounting processes to ensure you have proper procedures and controls in place over the assets of your company.  We will provide a report and recommendations to you of workable procedures and internal control systems that balance your risk with the cost of implementing the controls.

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Information Systems & Technology

The use of systems technology is a requirement of doing business in today's workplace.  We have specialists in a number of accounting and software packages.  We also have a Novell Certified staff member who can assist you in network and Internet systems.  We are a resource to assist you in the planning, implementation and support of your information systems.  We feel that our consulting services will be invaluable to the success of your business meeting its financial information needs.

We specialize in the following areas:

Software Products
We can assist you and provide support for the following software products:

Our staff will work with you to help determine the best software for your business needs.

Once the software decision is made, we can assist you in the following:

  • Acquiring the software
  • Installing the software on your system
  • Setting up the chart of accounts
  • Training you and your staff in the use of the software
  • Setting up the controls for the input and control of data into your system

QuickBooks and Quicken
We are a member of the QuickBooks Professional Advisors Program.  Our staff has extensive experience in the installation and use of these software products and will be available to provide continuing support to you regarding the use of these products.

Simply Accounting
We are Certified Consultants for Simply Accounting. Our staff has extensive experience in the installation and use of this software and will be available to provide continuing support to you regarding the use of this product.

BusinessWorks
We are a BusinessWorks Client Care Partner.  Our staff has experience in the installation and use of this software and will be available to provide continuing support to you regarding the use of this product.

Technology & Disaster Recovery Planning
We have experience in helping companies evaluate their technology needs. We will assist you in the planning and development of your information system.  We also can assist you with the planning and implementation of policies and procedures necessary to help you recover your data if a disaster should strike your system.

Network Design & Support
Computer systems are becoming more complex.  We can assist you in the designing, implementation and support of a computer system that will meet your needs. We will work with you to identify your specific requirements and assist you in evaluating the hardware and software that will be necessary to provide the information which you require.

Systems Review & Documentation
A successful computer system needs an ongoing review and documentation of the hardware and software and the current policies and procedures used to operate your system.  We can review and document critical components of your information system such as backup procedures, printer configuration, etc.  We can assist you in correcting the problems or provide you with a list of consultants who can address your needs.

Software Implementation & Support
We have experience in the installation of various software and in specifically providing software support for the software products
listed above.

Please contact us for additional information on the software and information technology services which we offer at
info@ofwf.com or call us at (402)592-3800.

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Assurance & Business Advisory Services

Annual or periodic financial statements are often required to satisfy banking, bonding, governmental, regulatory or operating agreement requirements.  Additionally, these financial statements frequently require analysis to assist you in making critical business decisions.   Our staff is trained to perform these services from a business point of view.  We will work with you to analyze the numbers and identify issues that affect the profitability or financial stability of your company.

Contact us to discuss how  we can be of service in the following areas:

Audits/Reviews/Compilation/Special Reports
We will work with you, your banker and bonding company, if applicable, to identify the level of service that will be of value to you and everyone involved.

Audit
An audit of an organization's financial statements is designed to obtain reasonable assurance as to whether the financial statements are free from material misstatement.  We perform detailed testing and analysis of the organization's financial records to make that determination.  The objective of an audit is for us to form an opinion as to whether the financial statements are fairly presented in all material respects.  An audit is usually requested by regulatory agencies, outside investors or creditors such as a bank.

Review
A review consists principally of inquiries of company personnel and analytical procedures applied to financial data.  It is substantially less in scope than an audit.  No detail account or transaction testing is performed.   The review report indicates that we are not aware of any material changes that need to be made to the financial statements in order for them to be presented in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.

Compilation
A compilation of financial statements involves assembling client financial records to present the company's financial statements in accordance with a comprehensive basis of accounting.  The financial statements can be full disclosure (i.e., footnotes attached) or omitted disclosure (i.e., no footnotes attached).  The accountant performs no account testing or analytical review.  The report indicates that we have not audited or reviewed the financial statements and, therefore, do not express an opinion or any other form of assurance on the financial statements.

Non-Profit and Governmental Audits
In addition to a financial statement audit, audits of non-profit and governmental organizations can  provide assurance that the organization or entity is in compliance with the governmental or non-profit audit requirements.  Each entity usually must comply with the specific rules and regulations set by their funding agency or with statutes.  These requirements can be the set by the federal government through OMB circulars, the "Yellow Book" or by the federal or state agencies.  Examples of such agency requirements are Housing and Urban Development rental or Community Development Block Grant requirements or state auditor's office requirements for various municipalities such as cities, sanitary and improvement districts, municipal utilities or
school districts

Compliance Audits
Compliance audits provide assurance as to an organization's compliance with a set of rules or regulations.  Our report provides an opinion as to the organization's compliance with those specific rules and regulations.

Agreed Upon Procedures
As the name implies, agreed upon procedures are engagements where an agreement is made between the accountant and the client as to the procedures the accountant is to perform with respect to the client's financial or non-financial records.  The purpose is to determine if certain balance sheet accounts are properly stated on the financial statements, or whether specific procedures,  processes or specific items of compliance are being followed.  After completion of the engagement, we issue a report indicating the work we performed and our findings.

Prospective Financial Statements
Prospective financial statements attempt to predict what will happen in the future, given a fixed set of assumptions.  We typically assist clients in developing the fixed set of assumptions and in preparing the financial statements for a bank or other credit agency.

Accounting System Design & Review
Clients engage us to review the policies and procedures used by their accounting department to see if they are efficient and include effective internal controls.  Additionally, we are ready to design an accounting system that incorporates all of your accounting requirements.

Management Consulting
We will work with you on any business issue you have to find the best solution to your problems and concerns.  If we do not have the ability to provide the solution, we will provide you with a list of  consultants who have the necessary expertise.

Projections
We can help you with developing and documenting your business plan and the related financial projections for internal planning and also for your financial needs as part of a loan application.

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Business Valuation Services

Valuations are often an essential part of business buy/sell agreements, sales and acquisitions, and estate and gift planning and preparation.  The business will be analyzed in order to determine its particular value and discounts and/or premiums that are applicable.

Valuations are often provided in connection with a legal proceeding (see Litigation Services) or in relation to lending requirements or estate settlements.  The businesses we generally value are small  to medium size companies of various types or professional practices. Valuation principles can be applied to any type of business, we are not limited to performing valuations for only specific types of businesses.

Valuations serve a variety of purposes and provide unique insights into the operations of your  business.  You should consider having a business valued in the following situations:

  • If you are considering buying or selling an existing business.
  • If you are considering bringing a new shareholder/partner into the business in exchange for cash, property or services.
  • If you are in the process of transitioning ownership of a family business.
  • If you want to gift stock or partnership interests to your family members or key employees.
  • If someone owning a business dies.
  • If an owner of a closely held business is involved in a divorce.

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Litigation Support

Attorneys who need quality assistance when in litigation, use the services of O'Donnell, Ficenec, Wills & Ferdig, LLP because we give advice in the real world to real clients with real problems.  Juries seem to understand and respect this practical experience.  Because accounting is the language of business, we can often clarify business transactions and explain the records to lawyers, judges and juries. We have the ability to do the quantitative analysis necessary to develop the technical evidence required in complex commercial cases. Our accounting skills enable us to analyze and organize large quantities of data that provide information relevant for discovery and trial.

We have the experience to consult or testify on the following:

  • Monetary Damages Resulting from Wrongful Legal Actions
  • Business Valuations
  • Present Value Calculations
  • Analysis of Opponent's Expert Findings
  • Economic Issues

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