Financial Accounting Software

Davie, FL (PRWEB) January 29, 2008 — Maverick CPA reveals silent pact between bankers and taxman could cost you your home and bury you under a mountain of debt, while lining the bank’s already massive profits and increasing the revenue of the IRS.

Real Estate Investing has never been more hazardous to the financial well being of investors. Your Banker and the Taxman have taken a vow of silence that threatens to wipe out the real estate portfolios of many investors who are faced with foreclosures.

Real estate sales have dropped by 13.8% in 2007. The sub prime debacle has cost an estimated $300 billion with no sign of stopping.

The median home price in a six-county region of Southern California plunged more than 13 percent in December from the same month a year ago, as the national housing slump kept eating away at home values.

All this puts pressure on real estate investors who may have taken advantage of low “teaser” rates, cash-out refinancings, zero-down loans, ‘negative amortization loans’, and other ‘creative’ financing options.

The national foreclosure rate has skyrocketed. The country is so close to recession that the Federal Reserve recently slashed interest rates in a vain hope to stem the tide.

So what do you do when the buyers disappear, prices plummet, rates shoot up, and you can’t afford the mortgage? According to Bill Tyler of Certified Tax Experts, many people walk away from their properties and let the bank ‘fix’ it. Pro-active property owners try to renegotiate with the lender, often turning over the property to the bank in exchange for the bank forgiving the outstanding loan.

“Both options can put you into debt, foreclosure, bankruptcy or even worse,” says Tyler. “The first thing I counsel my clients, is that you did what you thought was best for your future and the future of your family. It did not work out, but beating yourself up about it won’t help. We need to recognize where we are and move from there.”

Unfortunately, according to Tyler, being proactive can almost be worse than doing nothing.

Often when a property owner faces foreclosure, he will negotiate with his banker to give up his house along with a cancellation of debt. So if the bank sells a house with a $200,000 mortgage for $150,000, the owner does not owe the bank the outstanding $50,000. The bank cancels the debt and writes it off against profits.

Sounds like a great deal to the poor distressed owner. Until a few months later when the IRS informs him that that $50,000 debt he did not have to pay the bank is considered taxable income. In effect, his income went from a national average $45,000 to $95,000 and he never saw the money.

This is outrageous, according to Tyler. Your banker quietly crosses his fingers hoping you will sign his forms, knowing full well you will be stuck with an onerous debt you may never repay. And since you now owe the IRS, not the lender, bankruptcy is no longer an option.

The problem, says Tyler, is that your Banker and the Taxman know the rules of the game but most investors and home owners don’t. He has spent the past three years developing accounting strategies that allow investors to structure their real estate assets so that the outstanding $50,000 debt becomes an expense for income tax purposes, not income.

Tyler’s advice? If one starts falling behind in mortgage payments, don’t wait to get help. There are many competent professionals who can give solid advice and recommendations. Learn the rules of the game and put in place strategies to keep the bankers and taxman at bay.

Toronto, ON (PRWEB) January 29, 2008 — PROPHIX Software, a leading provider of financial business intelligence and performance management solutions specializing in forecasting, corporate budgeting, strategic planning, consolidation, financial analysis and scorecarding, is proud to be showcasing their software at the ASMI Budgeting & Forecasting Masters 2008 in San Diego, California. The ASMI Budgeting & Forecasting Masters 2008, the American Strategic Management Institute’s national conference, takes place February 11-13, 2008 at the Crown Plaza San Diego.

The American Strategic Management Institute will bring together the nation’s leading experts at Budgeting and Forecasting Masters 2008 while featuring tools for deploying cutting edge budgets and methodologically-advanced forecasts that maximize overall success. PROPHIX will be discussing the virtues of its entire suite of financial performance management solutions, including PROPHIX for SQL Server™, PROPHIX Enterprise and PROPHIX Express, throughout the event.

PROPHIX is also proudly sponsoring an informative session entitled “Aligning Strategic Planning to Financial Modeling”, presented by Gary Schwertly, CFO of The Anthony Robbins Companies. During this session Gary will:

- Review a 10-step method that guarantees a successful strategic plan is conveyed and acted on
- Align the strategic plan to the financial plan, making it a living document
- Ensure forecasts are reflective of current conditions as market forces change and the strategic plan is effected

“The ASMI Budgeting & Forecasting Masters 2008 is an excellent opportunity for us to meet other budgeting and forecasting leaders and to share our expertise with those in need of enhanced budgeting and forecasting methods,” says Nicole Laplante, Marketing Manager at PROPHIX Software. “Organizations require the ability to manage complex financial functions. Some of these functions include consolidation, job costing, allocations and currency management. PROPHIX allows you to easily handle the many variables involved in performing these complex financial analyses.”

About PROPHIX Software
PROPHIX Software is a leader in delivering performance management solutions including budgeting, planning, forecasting, reporting, consolidation, personnel planning and other advanced financial functions. PROPHIX Software maintains an outstanding reputation with its customers by consistently delivering tangible value and exceptional ROI, with a lower total cost of ownership.

San Bruno, CA (PRWEB) January 29, 2008 — Nomis Solutions the leader in Profit-based Pricing for banking and finance, today announced its participation in the American Financial Services Association’s (AFSA) Vehicle Finance Conference and Exposition, held February 6-8 at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. At the event, Nomis Solutions will be showcasing its award-winning Nomis Price Optimizer and participating in a roundtable discussion titled, “Using Innovative Strategies & Technologies to Fuel Growth,” which includes executives from AmeriCredit Corp., Toyota Financial Services and GMAC Financial Services.

“Nomis Solutions is proud to take a leadership role in this year’s AFSA Vehicle Finance Conference and we’re looking forward to demonstrating how auto finance executives can leverage pricing optimization technology to positively impact bottom line results by better executing their pricing strategies,” said Frank Rohde, chief marketing officer and vice president of product management at Nomis Solutions. “As auto finance executives enter a year marked by declining margins, increasing losses, and forecast volume drops, managing profitability through price optimization is becoming more and more important. In these tougher times, successful auto finance organizations are leveraging a price optimization platform flexible enough to forecast various economic scenarios, simulate various pricing scenarios, and deliver optimized rates that respond to market changes or competitive moves within their operational constraints.”

The roundtable discussion will focus on how vehicle finance companies can find opportunities for growth, better respond to changes in the market, and more effectively cater to their dealers and customers needs while differentiating themselves from the competition. This discussion will occur on Thursday, February 7, from 4:00 - 5:15 p.m. and will be moderated by Gregory Arroyo, executive editor for F&I Management and Technology Magazine. Mr. Rohde of Nomis Solutions will participate alongside Preston Miller, Co-COO of AmeriCredit Corp., Shaun Coyne, CIO of Toyota Financial Services and Donna V. Cheesebrough, VP & CIO NAO of GMAC Financial Services.

“As the auto finance market changes, companies must utilize advanced technology to better understand how to compete, manage their dealer and customer relationships, and deliver the right information at the right time,” said Mr. Arroyo. “This year’s conference is taking place as the auto finance industry is undergoing a tidal wave of change at every level. Our discussion will provide insight into what today’s market leaders are doing to address increased competitive pressure and greater regulatory demands while still managing to profitably grow their business.”

Another highlight of the three-day AFSA Vehicle Finance Conference includes the keynote presentation on Friday, February 8 by The Honorable John William Snow, Chairman of Cerberus Capital Management, L.P., and Former Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Rohde, who will be introducing Mr. Snow, commented, “This year’s AFSA Vehicle Finance conference will bring industry leaders together to engage in dialogue about how to deal with the volatile vehicle lending environment and manage profitable growth. Mr. Snow’s presentation on the economic and competitive conditions will illuminate the need for the vehicle finance industry to embrace new strategies and technologies in order to survive and thrive in tomorrow’s marketplace.”

The Nomis Price Optimizer Suite™ moves banks and finance companies beyond risk-based pricing practices to a more advanced approach that enables pricing managers to better tailor rates to various segments and markets, to quantify and gain valuable insights about customer preferences and to transition to a more consistent, repeatable and efficient pricing process. Currently deployed at more than 10 banks and finance companies worldwide, such as Abbey, AmeriCredit, HBOS, and Washington Mutual Bank, the award-winning Nomis Price Optimizer optimizes more than $4 Billion in consumer lending each month.

Nomis Solutions plans to showcase the Nomis Price Optimizer 3.3 for Auto Finance at this year’s AFSA conference. To schedule a meeting at AFSA to learn more about how Nomis Solutions can help you price smarter to achieve your performance targets, contact 650-588-9800 x233.

About Nomis Solutions
Nomis Solutions is the recognized leader in Profit-based Pricing for banking and finance. Powered by price optimization technology, Profit-based pricing is an innovative approach that enables executives to strategically use pricing to achieve improved financial results, gain insight into customer preferences, and support compliance. The award-winning Nomis Price Optimizer™ Suite is a set of business solutions that combines pricing analytics, optimization, and execution into a comprehensive pricing strategy and process.

The suite includes specific solutions for auto finance, home equity lending, personal lending, mortgage, and deposits. Each solution delivers quick time-to-benefit, increases profits and market share by 10-20%, and provides valuable insights about how customer preferences impact product and portfolio performance, within a strong compliance framework. Select customers include Abbey, AmeriCredit, Ford Motor Credit Company, GE Money, HBOS plc, and WaMu. Headquartered in San Bruno, USA, Nomis Solutions has offices in Charlotte, NC and London, United Kingdom.

Wilton, CT (PRWEB) January 29, 2008 — What image of comes to mind when you hear the term “stealth relocation”? The witness protection program? Or how the CIA relocates people these days? In reality, however, the term applies to corporate employees that are classified as being on a “temporary assignment” when, in the eyes of the IRS, they have actually fully relocated to the new area. And, with this ambiguous determination comes a raft of tax implications and exposure to unbudgeted costs.

David Oltman, Orion Mobility’s president, recalls that this was THE “hot topic” of the company’s annual relocation seminar for corporate tax and payroll professionals last September. “Just about every Q&A session had an inquiry from the attendees on this topic,” said Oltman. “We thought it was advisable, then, to do some in depth industry research and come up with the White Paper.”

Shortly thereafter, while presenting at the GlobalHR News London Conference last November, Heithaus met with Cohen to discuss areas of mutual interest. The topic of the White Paper came up and they pair realized that GlobalHR News also had a wealth of information on this very subject. The two companies then created an alliance to research draft and finalize the document. In addition to Cohen and Oltman, the article features two other Orion Mobility executives, Peter Fonseca and Quentin Hormel.

“This initiative represents a new method of educating our readers located globally,” said Ed Cohen. In addition to writing about the White Paper in GlobalHR News, globalhrnews.com will also feature it. “I learned from working with Orion Mobility on this project, I enjoyed it and look forward to other topics on which we can collaborate.”

Adds Oltman, “Our goal is to provide up-to-date tax compliance information to corporate managers involved with HR, Payroll, Tax and Relocation because they are charged with accountability for risk and cost management. This White Paper serves to educate and inform on this critical issue and we urge relocation professionals to get updated on this topic immediately.”

Bellevue, Wash. (PRWEB) February 4, 2008 — Guidant Financial Group, a leading provider of self-directed IRA services, announced today the top-five investments made by self-directed IRA holders in 2007. The list was derived by analyzing investments made by more than 600 investors with checkbook control of their IRAs in 2007. Self-directed IRAs are typically used for investments outside the stock market, such as real estate, but they can also be used to purchase traditional securities.

1. Real Estate
Though this grouping encompasses a lot of different types of real estate investments, it definitely stood out as the number one choice for self-directed investors in 2007. Within this category, the most popular real estate investment was residential rental properties. As home values across the nation stalled or dropped, investors moved their funds from appreciative properties to cash-flow investments. A close second to residential rentals were commercial rentals, followed by raw land, appreciative properties and foreign real estate.

2. Private Placement
Many successful companies are not publicly traded - creating additional opportunities for private investors. In 2007, Guidant consultants saw a large number of investors using their retirement funds to make equity investments in privately held companies.

3. Loans/Notes
Looking for a solid return on investment secured by an asset, many investors in 2007 turned to loans and notes. The most popular was the bridge loan, stemming from problems in the mortgage industry and borrowers looking for short-term capital to secure new long-term financing. Other loans/notes leading the pack were hard-money loans and first and second deeds of trust.

4. Tax Liens/Deeds
The perceived security of tax liens and deeds, along with their wide range of purchase prices, made them popular investment choices in 2007. “A lien or deed can be bought for as little as a few hundred dollars and are often secured by real estate,” says David Nilssen, CEO of Guidant Financial Group. “Tax liens can be a great purchase for investors who are just getting started.”

5. Securities
Although most retirement account holders choose a self-directed IRA in order to invest outside the stock market, many account holders tend to keep at least some of their money in the securities market. This helps diversify their portfolio and cushion any major shifts in their other investments. Stocks were clearly the most popular security investment; however, bonds, mutual funds, ForEx, and foreign currency CDs were also investments commonly pursued by self-directed investors.

“Despite the volatility of the real estate market, investments in that arena were still the most popular among our clients and those exploring our services,” says Nilssen. “Most people own a home or know someone who has invested successfully in real estate, so it is an obvious place to start when looking for alternatives to the securities market. Aside from the obvious ability to truly diversify retirement funds, one of the greatest benefits to holding self-directed IRAs is their flexibility, which allows investors to profit in virtually any market situation.”

About Guidant Financial Group

Guidant Financial Group is the premier provider of self-directed IRAs and business-funding solutions through IRAs and 401(k)s. Guidant’s services allow investors the freedom to make investments in real estate, franchises, businesses, tax liens and more by accessing their retirement accounts without penalty before retirement age.

Santa Ana, CA (PRWEB) February 4, 2008 — Westover Financial, Inc., middle-market equipment financing and leasing company, announced the formation of another, niche-specific, equipment financing division, Westover Hospitality Equipment Finance. This is another in a series of planned business unit additions for 2008. It stems directly from the success of Westover Medical Equipment Finance launched in August of 2007, to serve the medical, dental, hospital/medical center and other commercial medical customers. It will fill the pressing need for creative, structured and economical equipment financing and leasing solutions sought by the restaurant, hotel, motel and leisure industry.

This division will provide equipment financing and leasing solutions to many of the problems routinely encountered in the hospitality industry. It will provide access to different lenders on behalf of it’s clients and equipment vendors, to accommodate a variety of equipment financing or leasing scenarios unique to this particular industry. Many of which cannot be accommodated by conventional lenders such as banks.

“We are becoming a well defined niche-player in several industries,” said Steve Jones, President of Westover. “So once again, it makes sense for us to dedicate specialized resources to a specific market, since we believe that there is significant growth ahead. We also expect that the current liquidity issues facing banks and other traditional lenders may open up opportunities for us.”

In conjunction with this, a new company Web site, www.westoverhospitalityequipmentfinance.com, has been completed and is available for customers, hospitality equipment vendors and potential clients as well.

Westover Financial, Inc., headquartered in Santa Ana, CA, was founded in 1984 and has funded over $500,000,000. in equipment purchases for commercial entities. It serves the needs of customers and equipment vendors nationwide from the home office, as well as branch offices in San Francisco, Tampa, Austin and Los Angeles.

From it’s web site, www.westoverhospitalityequipmentfinance.com, they are offering a free “Hospitality Equipment Financing Newsletter” issued quarterly, and a free “Insider’s Checklist When Financing/Leasing Hospitality Equipment”. This helps owners and decision-makers save time and money when engaging in this process.

For more information contact Steve Jones at Westover Financial, Inc 400 N. Tustin Ave. #140 Santa Ana, CA 92705; or 800-982-5868 x104

Mission Viejo, CA (PRWEB) February 20, 2008 — The new Economic Stimulus Plan signed last week by President Bush, could have the effect of lowering lease rates for corporate borrowers as leasing companies pass on the benefits to their customers.

A provision included in the stimulus plan was “Bonus Depreciation” a term used to describe accelerated depreciation of purchased equipment that exceeds $250,000. The main benefit of this provision is to give businesses an opportunity to accelerate the depreciation of a large purchase.

Normally, if a company acquired $1,000,000 in equipment, the company could claim depreciation in the first year of $200,000 (20% of $1 million). However with the new Bonus Depreciation, that same company could deduct $600,000 in the first year (a 50% Bonus depreciation of $500,000, plus $100,000 which is 20% of the $500,000). The remaining cost can be depreciated over the remaining recovery period.

In a research note to clients, The Optimus Group strongly recommended that Corporate Finance and Treasury departments consider how this new legislation could reduce their corporate borrowing rates as leasing companies may be inclined to pass on the economic benefit of accelerated depreciation on to its customers.

The Optimus Group (optimusgroup.com) is an independent financial advisory firm that negotiates with leasing companies and banks on its clients’ behalf. The Optimus Group is NOT a leasing company. In most cases, The Optimus Group, through its expertise in lease/loan contracts, would be able to reduce total lease expenses by at least 10% to 15%. A typical Optimus Group client invests over $5 million in new equipment annually and is the company CFO or Treasurer.

Edmonton, AB (PRWEB) February 21, 2008 — Globex Foreign Exchange expands again! This time at head office located in the heart of downtown Edmonton, Alberta.

Recent growth had Co-Presidents Michael & Clive Oshry requiring more space. The company now fully occupies the entire Kershaw building on Edmonton’s bustling Jasper Ave. The renovations for this 100 year old building were swift and effective. After starting the expansion in early October, six short weeks later a former record store was completely transformed into an open and fresh working environment for twenty new employees. “The new space helps to streamline communication between departments and improve the efficiency of our document and information flow.” - Co-President Clive Oshry.

Realizing the need for specialists in the Foreign Currency Exchange markets around the world, Globex keeps expanding. 2006 saw Globex become an international company with offices opening in London, England and Auckland, New Zealand. Increased global transactions in Sydney, Australia recently had Globex’s staff grow to nearly 200 employees. Globex is poised to continue moving forward by having the best foreign currency exchange rates in the world, along with its unparalleled customer service.

Globex Foreign Exchange continues to grow and offer the best foreign exchange rates in the world for both Corporate and large scale individual transactions.

New York, NY (PRWEB) February 22, 2008 — Xtiva Financial Systems, a leading provider of enterprise compensation solutions for the brokerage industry today announced that Legent Clearing of Omaha, Nebraska has formed a marketing alliance with Xtiva. This alliance will enable Legent correspondents to receive preferred pricing for Xtiva’s sales compensation system solutions.

“Once we saw the success that two of our correspondents were having with Xtiva’s system, we were confident that our other clients would be interested in achieving similar results,” said Ray Maratea, Executive Vice President of Sales for Legent Clearing. “Our mission is to provide our clients with the best technology solutions so they can maximize their operational effectiveness. Xtiva’s solutions have been proven at over 100 client installations to do just that.”

“Our business development strategy has always been to partner with the top clearing firms to enable us to provide the maximum value to their fully-disclosed correspondents. Legent has proven that they have a platform that correspondents want, and they have been great to work with as we have developed the integration points for our solutions.” said Thomas Moysak, Vice President of Sales and Business Development, Xtiva Financial Systems. “Forming this alliance will help us deploy our compensation solutions to Legent clients at a better price point and more effectively, reducing total cost of ownership for the correspondents.”

The Xtiva suite provides full support for commission and compensation planning, back-office operations and reporting. Key benefits of the Xtiva suite include:

- Consolidation - clients gain command of all key business data in one accessible and extensible data mart;
- Flexibility - Easy modeling of unlimited payout, fee, and bonus structures to support the evolving business needs of a brokerage firm;
- Efficiency - Streamlined back-office processing and automation of processing for all types of data feeds
- Business visibility - Enterprise production reporting, including management-level reporting, agent/rep, branch, account, products, etc.

About Xtiva Financial Systems
Xtiva Financial Systems is a leading provider of enterprise compensation Software as a Service (SaaS) solutions for the brokerage industry. Founded in 1998 and based in New York City, Xtiva has developed state-of-the-art technologies that enable retail and institutional broker/dealers to streamline operations, from sales compensation and production reporting to supervision of rep licensing and compliance issues. With over 100 clients and key industry alliances, Xtiva is the leading provider of sales compensation solutions to the brokerage industry.

Xtiva’s clients include AXA Advisors, H&R Block Financial Advisors, Mutual of Omaha Investor Services, New England Securities, Northern Trust, UBS, and Walnut Street Securities. Xtiva’s partners include: Bear Stearns, Dain Correspondent Services, First Clearing, National Financial Services, Ridge Clearing, Investigo, and PriceMetrix.

About Legent Clearing
Legent Clearing is a leading independent provider of correspondent clearing services. Since its founding in 2002, Legent has grown rapidly as a result of its unique combination of independence, best-of-breed technology and ability to offer customized solutions. Legent provides access to investment products such as equities, mutual funds, foreign securities, fixed income investments, prime brokerage, options, annuities, DVP/RVP and WRAP accounts through a variety of online tools and platforms. Legent Clearing, a wholly owned subsidiary of Legent Group, is headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.

San Ramon, CA (PRWEB) February 23, 2008 — Premiere privately held mortgage companies have formed an affiliation to become one of California’s largest retail mortgage lending organizations. BWC Mortgage Services and StoneCastle, Land & Home Financial announced today they have joined forces with annual loan origination volume exceeding $2,000,000,000. Additionally, Paragon Mortgage Bankers (Alamo), the former Concord California branch of All California Mortgage and Bay Area Funding Group, the lending division of Remax Accord, a local real estate powerhouse with over 400 Realtors® in eight offices have also joined forces with BWC Mortgage Services.

BWC Mortgage Services (began in 1994 and formerly a division of the Bank of Walnut Creek) provides mortgage banking, FHA lending capabilities, multi-state licensing and industry leading technology. StoneCastle contributes extensive experience and quality loan volume, which when combined with BWC will result in superior lending options and pricing for consumers.

“With the passage of the federal economic stimulus package and the likelihood of conforming loan limits being raised substantially in California, we are forecasting a great year to deliver quality real estate financing solutions to consumers, builders and Realtors®,” said Richard Fahey, StoneCastle CEO.

“Borrowers benefit with expanded loan options and better pricing and that’s a win-win for our clients and employees. BWC remains at the forefront of the lending industry and we are thrilled to be affiliated with such outstanding organizations,” said Scott Simonich, CEO of BWC.

BWC Mortgage Services now operates with over 200 Loan Agents in 21 branches. BWC is a direct lender and is approved by the Federal Housing Administration. The company maintains an active membership in CAMB, California Association of Mortgage Brokers, which acts as consumer advocacy group promoting responsibility and best business practices among the lending community