Crane & Company provides a wide range of services – some of which we consider “traditional” that many CPA-owned firms offer. However, we often step beyond these traditional services and assist our clients in capital markets issues such as investor outreach, the completion of financings or going public transactions. We also offer other more unique services that involve modern complex accounting, tax and valuation issues.
We start here with most clients because for whatever reason LLCs are widely used by entrepreneurs but in many cases the selection of an LLC versus a corporation results in the loss of a potentially life-changing tax exemption available only to entrepreneurs. The 2018 tax reform also created the most dramatic changes in U.S. tax laws in 30 years. We see tax strategy as a much more pressing need for businesses today. Many new benefits of the tax reform require specific qualifications be met prior to each tax yearend. In the first few years after the tax reform was passed we anticipate many businesses will fail to qualify for a variety of powerful tax deductions and tax credits due to poor or nonexistent tax planning. As such, we are very focused on the effort to ensure our clients qualify for and are able to take every tax deduction and every tax credit available to them each year.
One way or another every business will at some point need to produce accounting in a format that is generally accepted (i.e. accrual basis financial statements) and utilized to prepare tax returns, appease or promote the business to investors, or to maintain compliance with banking or other debt arrangements. We use a team of accountants based in the U.S. and overseas that have a variety of training and expertise to ensure that each client is best matched with our bookeepers, controllers, and CFOs, as needed.
Throughout each stage of development our clients rountinely require equity and debt financings. We are proud to have worked side by side with our clients as they have completed both traditional and highly complex financings and M&A. Through 2018 our clients have raised in excess of $100M while our founder, James Crane, CPA, served as their CFO or defacto CFO. We strive to maintain a working relationship with a diverse network of financiers. Our close relationships include investors throughout the financing ladder including angels, venture capitalists, private equity, asset-based lendors, receivables and purchase order factoring, pre-IPO and investors who participate in IPOs, reverse mergers, self registrations or private investments in public entities (“PIPE”).