Services

Today Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP, stands proudly as one of the largest local accounting firms in South Florida, with an impressive team of approximately fifty dedicated professionals. The firm's growth over the past 50 years is in part fueled by a commitment to the firm’s motto “Know your client.”. Verdeja & Alvarez seeks to understand every client’s operations and mission. By having an “inside”, and “outside” view of clients, Verdeja & Alvarez can provide management and the board of directors with numerous value-added services such as benchmarking, consulting, forecasting, and financial statement analysis.

Audit & Assurance

AUDIT & ASSURANCE

Accounting and Bookkeeping

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP has a dedicated team of professionals that make up the accounting and bookkeeping department. Our skilled and certified professionals provide personalized financial guidance. We provide accurate and comprehensive financial statements and in-depth business analyses. Hiring a third-party accountant can offer many benefits to your organization including reduced salary expense, fraud prevention, and improved financial controls and organization. In addition, Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP’s accounting and bookkeeping department has established a trend in providing financial savings and tax benefits to their clients.

Agreed-Upon Procedures

Agreed-Upon Procedures offer more versatility and flexibility compared to other engagements such as audits, reviews, and compilations. As long as both parties agree, a client can engage with an accounting firm to provide a designated number of procedures of their choice that may be outside the scope of a regular audit, review, or compilation.

Agreed-Upon Procedures differ from the typical other forms of engagement in that they do not offer an opinion, should not provide negative assurance, and are not necessarily attached to a fiscal year. With the increase in popularity over the years, Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP has gained extensive experience in performing Agreed-Upon Procedures.

Typical uses of Agreed-Upon Procedures reports include:

Mergers & Acquisitions
Audit Preparation
Compliance with governmental agencies
Parent-Subsidiary
Preventative/Maintenance
Changes in top management
Investigative
Employee/Vendor Compensation
Bench-marking
Step Up, Scholarship Programs

Audits, Reviews, and Compilations

The audit department at Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP adheres to the firm’s simple philosophy of “Know Your Client”. The success of our auditing service has been in understanding the operations of the client, whether a nonprofit, governmental, or for-profit organization. The firm’s audit practice has been subject to the AICPA’s mandatory Peer Review every 3 years and has received unqualified (clean) opinions on all occasions.

The firm also provides other assurance services such as compliance auditing, reviews, and compilations. We believe that communication between the client and the auditor is the most important part of any audit. Accordingly, at the inception of the audit and during the audit, our partners meet with the client to discuss all pertinent matters. At the completion of the audit, the partner in charge of the audit will make a presentation to the Board of Directors or Owners to explain the results. Our goal is to inform you of our findings and improve your operations.

All of our audits undergo several stages:

I) Planning

II) Fieldwork

III) Reporting

During the planning phase, we have an opportunity to perform a risk assessment that may include identifying the following risks:

Strategic Risk
Operational Risk
Compliance Risk
Fraud Risk
Financial Statement Risk
Market Risk
Credit Risk

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP has always been committed to making practical and relevant presentations to management or the Board of Directors of an organization. We realized that some management or Board members may not necessarily be trained in accounting or finance. Therefore, we have stressed the importance of making the information understandable to the entirety of the audience.

Internal Audit

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP’s internal audit and compliance services provide companies with the experience and resources necessary to develop, monitor, and maintain strong internal controls and compliance programs by using a risk-based, proactive approach. We provide an internal audit function that will be respected by your board and provide turnkey internal audit capability at a competitive cost, helping you address and reduce business and industry risks and achieve your organizational goals.

Our firm provides full internal audit outsourcing and risk assessments. Our audit team’s experience in your industry and knowledge of internal controls helps improve your bottom line. We use a process-oriented approach and a proven methodology in aligning the right internal controls with your company’s exposures and reviewing how new business processes impact existing practices.

We can assess your internal audit risks in the following areas and make recommendations on implementations needed to reduce your risk:

Accounts Receivable
Acquisitions and Dispositions
Debt and Lease
Deferred Revenue
Equity
Estimates, Commitments and Contingencies
Financial Close
Fixed Assets
Human Resources
Inventory controls
Investments
IT Application Controls Review
Payables
Payroll
Planning and Logistics
Revenue Cycle
Taxes

Litigation Support

Several partners of the firm have provided expert testimony in connection with damages and loss calculations, IRS cases, divorce settlements, wrongful death lawsuits, and shareholder disputes among others.

Our firm has provided litigation support for a broad range of torts and disputes, including:

Personal injury
Commercial Litigation
Fraud investigations
Divorce and family law
Product liability
Estate Litigation
Review of tax compliance matters

Step Up For Students and Other Scholarships Agreed-Upon Procedures

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP is the leading firm in the State of Florida in providing the Step Up For Student Agreed-Upon Procedures report. Since the Step Up For Students program began requiring the report in 2011, Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP has successfully submitted approximately 500 reports to the Program.

We understand more than anybody the opportunity that the Step Up For Students scholarship fund provides to the students at Florida’s schools. We take this into consideration when performing the services related to the report. Since we are the most experienced firm in Florida when it comes to the Step Up For Students Report, we are able to complete the reports in a timely and efficient manner to ensure that the school meets the eligibility requirement for the following year to receive funds.

If a school in Florida is receiving more than $250,000 in Step Up For Students scholarship funds, the program requires the school to submit an Agreed-Upon Procedures report from an independent accountant.

The Children’s Trust – Program Specific Audits

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP is a leading provider of The Children’s Trust (the “Trust”) Program Specific audits in the State of Florida. In 2012, The Children’s Trust program requires a program-specific audit for every Organization contracted to receive more than $100,000 over the term of the contract. Our firm is very familiar with the programs funded by The Children’s Trust and the completeness and thoroughness of our testing and reports is reflected in the reports.

For each report, Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP provides:

Independent Auditors’ Report on the Schedule of Expenditures and the Schedule of Budget to Actual Expenditures of The Children’s Trust Contracts
Independent Auditor’s Report on Compliance For Each of The Children’s Trust Contracts
Report on Internal Control Over Compliance; Report on the Schedule of Expenditures of The Children’s Trust Contracts
Report on the Schedule of Budget to Actual Expenditures of The Children’s Trust Contracts
Schedule of Expenditures of The Children’s Trust Contracts
Schedule of Budget to Actual Expenditures of The Children’s Trust Contracts
Notes to the Schedules
Schedule of Findings and Questioned Costs

We have worked hand-in-hand with the Trust in establishing requirements and procedures for grant recipients. In addition, our firm’s founder Octavio F. Verdeja, was past Treasurer of The Children’s Trust. We have received much praise and recognition from the Trust regarding our helpful insight and best practices regarding new procedures, trends, and testing of program-specific audits.

We have been included in The Children’s Trust’s vendor pool of CPAs, which we worked diligently to help create and be part of (https://www.thechildrenstrust.org). If an Organization requiring a program-specific audit chooses a CPA firm from this vendor pool, a portion of their audit will be paid for by the Trust.

ADVISORY

Advisory

Business Plan

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP’s experience affords us a wealth of knowledge as we shift to business advisors on new ventures. Part of the needs of a start-up business is the formulation of a solid business plan. Our conservative nature serves to ensure that the foundation of your new business plan is sound. We will help you formulate a business plan and your business that provides the economic advantage over current business competitor practices.

Business Valuation

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP’s business valuation service provides independent and unbiased valuations for businesses and business interests of all sizes. From small proprietorships, such as medical practices, to large national corporations.

Computing & Technology

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP can assist you with the development of your technology strategies, including specific plans for operational actions, projects, and strategic IT plans. We know this planning process is critical to your business, and we understand the importance of integrating your technology and business strategies. With careful IT planning, you can position your business well for the future.

Our firm can assist you with:

Network Installations and Maintenance
Custom Industry Software Development
Software Selection and Training
EDP Review
Accounting Software Implementation and Support
Departmental Outsourcing

Consulting

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP’s capabilities are shaped by the needs of our clients and span strategic business and operations planning, recruitment and placement for accounting managers and staff, and general business advice. We also provide expertise in mergers and acquisitions, business valuation, and financing services.

Our services include:

Management consulting and financial information reporting design
Internal operation reviews
Profit improvement studies
Accounting software consulting
Business valuation and financial projections
Due Diligence and Transaction Services
Forensic accounting and litigation support
Agreed Upon Procedures
Benchmarking
Stock-holder disputes
Internal Audit
Litigation Support

Forecasting & Projections

As companies evolve and grow, they must look to and plan for the future. The future is full of uncertainties, but the best way to prepare for what lies ahead is by advanced planning. Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP can help you determine what the future holds through financial forecasting, projections, and cash flow models that enable decision-makers to anticipate results that are dependent on choices made internally and external factors.

Specifically, our firm prepares forecasts, projections, and models for entrepreneurs and management to use in their business plans and loan requests. Many investors and providers of capital, both equity and debt, require a forecast or a projection prepared by the organization’s accounting firm.

Merger, Acquisition, and
Due Diligence

Our firm can help you with the sale of your business. The goal is typically obtaining the best price, although of increasing importance are issues such as strategic fit, short and long-term growth, and sustained employment.

Corporate acquisitions may be time-consuming and therefore effective planning is the key to success. If the target business has not been identified, our firm can help you with access to an effective database and local knowledge.

All aspects of corporate finance involve due diligence when operations and management are examined and material facts verified. We have performed numerous agreed-upon procedures/due diligence audits of hotels, restaurants, retail stores, and shopping centers, among others.

QuickBooks Consulting and Assistance

Our firm offers assistance and consulting to small businesses and organizations that use QuickBooks accounting software. QuickBooks is a powerful small business accounting software program that can help you save time and money. In order to reap the benefits of this software, it is critical that the software is installed and set up with a proper chart of accounts that meets your industry needs.

Our firm has staff that are QuickBooks certified. These individuals have years of QuickBooks expertise and have worked with numerous QuickBook platforms.

We offer QuickBooks help with installation, set-up, training, custom reports, and ongoing support to assist your organization’s personnel. Our firm has the experience and knowledge required to help you successfully integrate QuickBooks into any type of organization.

Training/Seminars

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP has provided seminars to our clients and colleagues for the past 20 years in order to provide guidance on new pronouncements, trends, and standards.

In addition, our firm has assisted in the training of some of our largest clients over improvements in internal controls. We have been able to make positive changes to the bottom line, mitigate fraud, and provide more effective and efficient processes.

Forensic Accounting

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP combines our audit and investigative knowledge with accounting skills to identify how fraud is perpetrated and to unravel matters that are complex quagmire. Ongoing training in fraud detection reinforces our extensive experience and helps us stay one step ahead of fraud perpetrators and ever-evolving fraud schemes. Our style of Forensic Accounting is a key factor in fraud prevention. The firm has partners and managers who are certified in financial forensics or are certified fraud Examiners.

Our firm's Forensic Accounting services include:

Attorney’s trust account investigation and defense
Civil case consulting and court testimony on such subjects as marital matters and stockholder lawsuits
Damage calculations preparation and rebuttal
Evaluation of internal controls to detect fraud, embezzlement, or misappropriation of funds
Examination of abuses by corporate officers or employees to detect hidden or undervalued assets, diverted or unreported income, and inappropriate expense allocations
Evaluation of loan lending and underwriting for possible improprieties and/or fraud

Tax Services

TAX SERVICES

Exempt Organization/Non-Profit Tax Compliance

Tax Exempt Organizations are required to file an annual Form 990 tax return with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS recently redesigned Form 990 and made significant changes. The new form and supporting schedules are intended to provide increased transparency and facilitate comparisons between similar types of tax-exempt Organizations. Due to the significant number of non-profit Organizations our firm is involved with, we are able to ensure your organization is competitive and compliant with the new changes to the Form. We understand and are familiar with the new questions and potential implications of answers that are provided in Form 990 regarding policies and procedures, expanded reporting requirements in areas such as executive compensation and tax-exempt bonds, and additional information required. We are here to assist you in every way possible to ensure the Form 990 is completed accurately, completely, and submitted timely.

Certified Acceptance Agent Service

As an Internal Revenue Service Certifying Acceptance Agent, our firm is authorized to act on behalf of nonresident aliens and other foreign taxpayers to apply for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number from the Internal Revenue Service (not eligible for a Social Security Number).

Individuals requiring a Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) may include one of the following:

United States resident alien or required to file a U.S. tax return
Spouse or dependent of a U.S. resident alien
Nonresident alien professor, student, or researcher filing a U.S. tax return or claiming an exception
Nonresident aliens are required to get an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to declare tax treaty benefits
Spouse or dependent of a nonresident alien holding a U.S. Visa
Resident aliens who have acquired an interest-bearing bank deposit account

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP offers complete ITIN services including in-person or Skype interviews, preparation of Form W-7: Application for Individual Taxpayer Identification Number; Form W-7 (COA): Certificate of Accuracy for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number; and Certification of Passports or other IRS acceptable identity documents.

International Taxation

South Florida is a diverse community of nationalities from all over the world. Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP can help you navigate through the many complex tax issues your business may face.

Our tax experts have many years of experience in the South Florida international business community and can identify potential pitfalls or opportunities, including:

Accounting and financial statements
Tax planning and tax return preparation
Legal entity structure planning for international operations
International entity reorganizations
IRS audit representation
Tax residency determination
Investment by non-residents in U.S. real estate
Investment by U.S. residents in foreign real estate
Expansion of U.S. businesses to other countries
Tax treaty issues
Other matters requiring tax consulting

Pension Plans

Verdeja & Alvarez, LLP performs over 45 employee benefit plan audits, including audits of 401(K), 403(B), and retirement systems.

From assisting clients in self-correcting operational errors to preparing and reviewing Form 5500, our firm thoroughly understands employee benefit plan audits and can provide exactly the services you need.

Our Employee Benefit Plan capabilities include:

Multi-employer (Taft-Hartley) Pension Plans
Single Employer Defined Benefit, Defined Contribution, 401(k) plans, 403(b) Plans
Health and Welfare Plans
Governmental PERS Pension Plans
Small Business Benefit Plans
Full and Limited Scope Audits
IRS (Form 5500)
Department of Labor Master Trust Filings
Plan Accounting and Financial Statement Preparation
Plan Mergers Advice
Information Systems Support
Implementing Current Accounting Pronouncements
Testing for Compliance with IRC and ERISA Regulations (e.g., Discrimination Testing)
Testing Compliance with Provisions under Collective Bargaining Agreements
Assisting with Current Tax Issues and IRS Examinations
Data Extraction Tests to Identify Specified Participant Data or Pension Characteristics
Consulting Services

Tax Consulting & Compliance

Our tax department provides tax consulting and compliance services to individuals, corporations, S corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies, trusts and estates, and not-for-profit entities. Our firm has extensive experience with domestic and international tax matters in areas such as business acquisitions and dispositions, cost segregation analyses, family wealth planning, structuring of foreign investments, intercompany pricing studies, and state and local tax planning. Our corporate tax practice covers a broad range of transactions, including bank and project financing; mergers and acquisitions; offshore companies; state and local tax consulting; sales and use tax; and real and personal property tax. We can help you navigate through the many returns you may be required to file.

Strategic tax planning is an intricate part of the filing process. We go beyond advising on best tax strategies. We approach the needs of each individual or business with the goal to help our clients succeed. We have streamlined our tax planning and preparation process so you can focus on your business.