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Merger Acquisition Excel Templates

2010-04-19T18:29:00.001-07:00

Free Excel Spreadsheets

Top Five Capital Budgeting Analysis (xls) - Basic program for doing capital budgeting analysis with inclusion of opportunity costs, working capital requirements, etc. - Aswath Damodaran
Rating Calculation (xls) - Estimates a rating and cost of debt based on the coverage of debt by an organization - Aswath Damodaran
LBO Valuation (xls) - Analyzes the value of equity in a leverage buyout (LBO) - Aswath Damodaran
Synergy (xls) - Estimates the value of synergy in a merger and acquisition - Aswath Damodaran
Valuation Models (xls) - Rough calculation for choosing the correct valuation model - Aswath Damodaran
Risk Premium (xls) - Calculates the implied risk premium in a market. (uses macro's) - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 3 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with three stages of growth, high growth initially, decline in growth, and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
FCFF Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran
FCFF Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
Time Value (xls) - Introduction to time value concepts, such as present value, internal rate of return, etc.
Lease or Buy a Car (xls) - Basic spreadsheet for deciding to buy or lease a car.
Top Five NPV & IRR (xls) - Explains Internal Rate of Return, compares projects, etc.
Real Rates (xls) - Demonstrates inflation and real rates of return.
Template (xls) - Template spreadsheet for project evaluation & capital budgeting.
Top Five Free Cash Flow (xls) - Cash flow worksheets - subsidized and unsubsidized.
Capital Structure (xls) - Spreadsheet for calculating optimal capital structures using different percents of debt.
WACC (xls) - Calculation of Weighted Average Cost of Capital using beta's for equity.
Statements (xls) - Generate a set of financial statements using two input sheets - operational data and financial data.
Bond Valuation (zip) - Calculates the value or price of a 25 year bond with semi-annual interest payments.
Buyout (zip) - Analyzes the effects of combining two companies.
Cash Flow Valuation (zip) - Walks through a valuation of cash flows under three models- capital cash flows, equity cash flows, and free cash flows.
Financial Projections (zip) - Spreadsheet model for generating projected financials along with valuation based on WACC.
Leverage (zip) - Shows the effects on Net Income from using debt (leverage).
Ratio Calculator (zip) - Calculates a standard set of ratios based on input of financial data.
Stock Value (zip) - Calculates expected return on stock and value based on no growth, growth, and variable growth.
CFROI (xls) - Simplified Cash Flow Return on Investment Model.
Financial Charting (zip) - Add on tool for Excel 97, consists of 6 files.
Risk Analysis (exe) - Analysis and simulation add on for excel, self extracting exe file.
Black Scholes Option Pricing (zip) - Excel add on for the pricing of options.
Cash Flow Matrix - Basic cash flow model.
Business Financial Analysis Template for start-up businesses from Small Business Technology Center
Forex (zip) - Foreign market exchange simulation for Excel
Hamlin (zip) - Financial function add-on's for Excel
Tanly (zip) - Suite of technical analysis models for Excel
Financial History Pivot Table - Microsoft Financials
Income Statement What If Analysis
Breakeven Analysis (zip) - Pricing and breakeven analysis for optimal pricing - Biz Pep.
SLG Ratio Master (exe) - Excel workbook for creating 25 key performance ratios.
DCF - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Discounted Cash Flow Analysis from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
History - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Historical Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
Proforma - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Pro-forma Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
Business Valuation Model (zip) - Set of tabbed worksheets for generating forecast / valuation outputs. Includes instruction sheet. Bizpep
LBO Model - Excel model for leveraged buy-outs
Comparable Companies - Excel valuation model comparing companies
Combination Model - Excel valuation model for combining companies
Top Five Balanced Scorecard - Set of templates for building a balanced scorecard.
Cash Model - Template for calculating projected financials from CFO Connection
Techniques of Financial Analysis - Workbook of 11 templates (breakeven, valuation, forecasting, etc.) from ModernSoft
Ratio Reminder (zip) - Simple worksheet of comparative financials and corresponding ratios from Agilicor
Risk Analysis IT - Template for assessing risk of Information Technology - Audit Net
Risk Analysis DW - Template for assessing risk of Data Warehousing - Audit Net
Top Five Excel Workbook 1-2 - Set of worksheets for evaluating financial performance and forecasting - Supplemental Material for Short Course 1 and 2 on this website.
Rule Maker Essentials - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering financial data - The Motley Fool
Rule Maker Ranker - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering comparable data - The Motley Fool
IPO Timeline - Excel program for Initial Public Offerings (must enable macros)
Assessment Templates - Set of templates for assessing an organization based on the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Model.
Cash Gap in Days - Spreadsheet for calculating number of days required for short-term financing.
Cash Flow Template - Simple cash flow model with explanations of each cash flow component - Arkansas Small Business Development Center.
Six Solver Workbook (zip) - Set of various spreadsheets for solving different business problems (inventory ordering, labor scheduling, working capital, etc.).
Free Cash Flow Valuation - Basic Spreadsheet Valuation Model
Finance Examples - Seven examples in Business Finance - Solver
Capital Budgeting Workbook - Several examples of capital budgeting analysis, including the use of Solver to select optimal projects.
Present Value Tables (rtf) - Set of present value tables written in rich text format, compatible with most word processors. Includes examples of how to use present value tables.
Investment Valuation Model (zip) - Valuation model of companies (must enable macros) - Excel Business Tools
Cash Flow Sensitivity (xlt) - Sensitivity analysis spreadsheet - Small Business Store
What If Analysis - Set of templates for sensitivity analysis using financial inputs.
Risk Return Optimization - Optimal project selection (must enable macro's) - Metin Kilic
CI - Basics #1 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.
CI - Basics #2 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.
External Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).
Internal Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).
Formal Scorecard - Formal Balanced Scorecard Spreadsheet Model (3.65 MB / must enable macros) - Madison Area Quality Improvement Network.
Project Plan - Project Scheduling Template currently setup for a Balanced Scorecard Project.
Gantt Chart - Gantt chart for project management with work plan - Jim Chapman's Web Site
E O Q Model - Simple Inventory Models for calculating Economic Order Quantity.
Inventory Simulation Control Model - Formal model for simulating inventory shortages, delivery times, costs, backorders, and optimal inventory levels - John McClain
Financial Projections Model - A comprehensive financial model for forecasting a complete set of financials with breakeven and valuation tabs developed by Frank Moyes and Stephen Lawrence at Leeds School of Business.
Option Trading Workbook - Educational toolkit for using Excel for Options - Option Trading Tips
Financial Model - A nice clean financial model driven by different calculators (such as Company, Market, Subscribers, etc.) developed by Bill Snow.
Forecasting Model - Step by step financial model for forecasting financials created by Sam Gui
Economic Evaluation - Step by step workbook for evaluating the economics of a system investment - Automated Concepts

Note: Most of the spreadsheets on this web page are from different sources. Where possible, a link has been provided back to the source. If you have questions, please contact the source. Only four spreadsheets were created by Matt H. Evans (No's 48, 54, 58, 64). If you need other spreadsheets not listed above, then please refer to the many links listed below for additional help.
Top Five - Five most popular files downloaded from this web page।

(http://www.exinfm.com/free_spreadsheets.html)

Preparing for a Career in Law

2010-01-01T22:54:00.000-08:00

If you are pointing toward a career as a lawyer, you have a fairly long road ahead of you, including four years of college and three of law school.

It's never too early to start preparing for your career. Lawyers need to be able to think logically and analytically, construct arguments, and communicate effectively. Trial lawyers especially need excellent public speaking skills. You can begin acquiring these competencies in high school by studying English for analysis and communication, math for develping logic, and theatre for public speaking.

Law schools won't ask for your high school grades, but they will scrutinize your college transcripts. It's crucial to have a high college GPA. Classes in English, debate, history, civics, government, and literature can help you prepare for a career in law.

The LSAT is the standardized test law schools use to evaluate law school applicants. It tests you on logical and analytical thinking, reading comprehension and writing ability. You'll take it during or after your last year in college.

Once you've seen your LSAT scores, you'll need to apply to at least 4-6 law schools approved by the ABA. It's not a bad idea to apply to one or two "dream" schools, a few schools where your grades and LSAT scores make you a realistic to strong candidate, and at least one (probably two) "safety" schools.

While in law school, most students spend some time working in the field to help them develop professional contacts and decide which specialty area(s) are of the greatest interest to them.

The state Bar exam, which measures a candidate's knowledge of state and federal law, is the last step to becoming a lawyer. Once you pass, you're officially licensed as a lawyer in your state.

There's no quick and easy way to become a lawyer. But, there are good reasons why so many people complete the rigorous path to a career in law. In addition to relatively high earnings, lawyers enjoy the opportunity to practice in many specialties (criminal, civil, international, and copyright law, for example), to work in business, or to serve in govenment and political posts.

Daniel Z. Kane invites you to visit his websites on online colleges and online degrees.

What Is In Your Toolbox For Success Online?

2009-10-02T08:58:00.000-07:00

One way successful online businesses do business is through the enlistment and help of other websites to promote their products through affiliate programs. Your marketing success is all about creating a strategy, building a plan, and executing it consistently.

Strategies are best explained as the direction the marketing effort will take over a certain period of time, while tactics are the steps or decisions made in order to follow the strategies established. Strategies and how to implement them are ever increasing and changing.

In line with an ever evolving business strategy, you must continue to look at technology to see how you can support your operations, understand your business better and empower your people to do what they need to do.

Your plan will follow your consumers. They want to be kept updated with information regarding your company and any special events or outstanding promotions which might be on offer.

Remember consumers making purchases online are increasing everyday as more are discovering the advantages to shopping on the Internet. Consumers are becoming more aware and are making smarter choices based upon knowledge acquired from the Web on products and services.

Big businesses have recognized this trend and increased their profits. One way businesses do this is through developing web sites to provide their consumers and business partners with information and e-commerce. Information may be in the form of "how-to" articles, general information, product reviews, tips, and reports.

Businesses must be creative and tenacious in creating integrated marketing strategies with mobile marketing endeavors. I recommend you do the same.

Similar to big business, successful internet marketers always improve upon themselves and develop themselves. Successful internet marketing is attained from within. Internet marketing success is not something you can find "out there" through an opportunity, sponsor, or up line.

Successful internet marketing has many aspects and includes persistence, consistent promotion, and patience, but a positive attitude is equally critical to achieving successful results. Successful internet marketing is about building relationships and forming a solid foundation in which to build a profitable business for you and your family.

Bottom line, success doesn't come from acquiring, achieving, or advancing. Success does not always equal making money. Success doesn't come down to just one thing. Success comes to those who plan for success and allocate their time to productive uses and ever expanding their tool box. Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out. Success is a combination of things and having the right idea at the right time.

About the Author

Sean Burton is an excelling marketer who is showing many that online success is not a myth but a reality. Just doing the basics is not enough you have to take action, the right action in order to succeed. http://www.rightchange4u.com/success-online/

Reverse Mergers & Shell Corporations

2009-10-01T18:03:00.000-07:00

Reverse Mergers, Private Placements and Raising Money

What is a Reverse Merger?
The definition of a reverse merger is when a public shell corporation mergers with an operating private business.
A reverse merger occurs when a shell corporation acquires a private business, and changes its name to the private company. Shell corporations usually have no assets of any significance nor any employees. Reverse mergers are not as good as an IPO because you cannot raise money unless the company does a private placement. Business do private placement to raise money.

We do not advocate reverse mergers.

Most investment banks don't like reverse mergers. The best way to raise money is to do a private placement and raise some seed capital and then do an IPO an initial public offering.

There are a many places to find capital for a business instead of a reverse merger. Capital sources include loans, lines of credit, factoring, seed capital and venture. Please see our website which has information on shell corporations, raising capital, going public and more.

Why are they called public shell corporations? They are called shell corporations
because the only thing left from the old company is the corporate shell structure.

The benefits of a reverse merger in comparison to Initial Public Offering (IPO) include the following: a company will usually receive a higher valuation, it is suppose to be quicker and their will be less dilution of ownership. However it is just as easy to do a registration statement and do a self filing or direct public offering. It is superior to doing a reverse merger with a public shell corporation. This is because public shell corporations are ripe with past problems.

A reverse merger with a reporting public shell company that has a symbol maybe a little quicker but they are expensive. There can be undisclosed liabilities that one of the many reasons we do not recommend a reverse merger and suggest people avoid them and take their company public directly.

About the Author

Frank Roberson is corporate financial consultant specializing in public company information and shell corporations. Please visit Mr. Roberson's website for further resources about taking companies public.

The simple Myth of Multitasking

2009-10-01T17:41:00.000-07:00

Recently a study by the University of Michigan revealed that the brain is not truly capable of performing many tasks at once. While it may seem like you can talk on your cell phone and drive at the same time, the authors of the study discovered the brain is actually switching from task to task. The brain puts one task down, so to speak, and takes a moment to pick up another one.

This job switching takes time. The study noted that the several tenths of a second it can take your brain to switch from one thing to another can add up to dangerous time. Take the aforementioned driving with the cell phone. During the time your brain is focused on the call, the car is still moving without it actually being under your control. That half second is enough time for an accident to occur.

The City of Austin's public safety task force recently approved a resolution that could lead to a requirement for motorist to use hands-free devices. This is a first step in a potentially long process toward a ban on text messaging in particular. Seven states--Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey and West Virginia--all have a requirement for motorists to use hands-free devices.

The research on the effectiveness of banning text messaging for drivers is inconclusive at this point. It is difficult to provide exact statistics on wrecks related to cell phone use because drivers are reluctant to admit it. A recent article in the Austin-American Statesman cited a study in North Carolina by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that found teen drivers actually used cell phones more after a ban on them was enacted.

It is human nature to ignore inconvenient rules like banning cell phone use in the car. It is also human nature to think we can do it all. It is not just driving while talking on the cell phone or texting that puts multitasking into overdrive. A typical evening can find any parent simultaneously making dinner, unloading the dishwasher, helping with homework and thinking about the big presentation at work the next day. According to the Michigan study, the synapses in the prefrontal cortex, or executive mental control center, are sizzling under the demands.

The busy lives people weave together are not seamless. The study found that executive control involves two distinct stages called goal shifting and rule activation. So it's like the brain is saying, "I want to do this now instead of that, and I need to turn off the rules for one and turn on the rules for the other."

These stages help people unconsciously switch between tasks. For simple, familiar tasks, this is a relatively quick and seamless event. But there are days the threads of the many tasks get tangled and snarled as the brain tries to achieve more complicated goals. The more complex the commands are, the longer it takes the brain to switch from task to task.

However, more often than not, the brain is putting down one thread and picking up the next with great skill. The fragmented days lived in ten minute snippets of time are a remarkable testament to the power of the brain. You just might want to think twice before picking up the cell phone next time you're in the car.

About the Author

Jill works with inside real estate. They operate sites about San Antonio real estate and El Paso real estate. They also have a site covering the Dallas real estate market.

Building your Sales Team

2009-10-01T17:04:00.000-07:00

You may have a brilliant product, best price, great online and offline visibility but you may not necessarily have the best sales report that you can boast about. Normally companies consider the above mentioned factors to be the crucial factors that help a company to do well however, they have been proved wrong repeatedly through their poor performance. If all these factors do not bring success, then what is the deciding factor on our sales? Most obviously, it is the effectiveness of your sales team. Often it is the sales team that makes or breaks a company success. If you have not been paying attention to building a strong sales team so far, then it is highly crucial that you start paying attention to building an effective sales team.

If you want an effective sales team then it is vital that each member of the team is highly effective. By selecting top performers we can make sure of having an effective sales team. How do we identify the top performers? We can use effective tools such as SPQ Gold. It is one of the best tools available in the market, which is capable of measuring the ability of your sales people to initiate contact and to introduce themselves to the prospective buyers. It will also help us find out their ability to manage their visibility levels in a highly competitive market. Every sales person has to fight the temptations of call reluctance and most people succumb to the temptation and employ over 12 avoidance behaviors making themselves to be unfit for the job. SPQ Gold will help us identify candidates who are more likely to exhibit such unhealthy traits and find candidates with healthy traits who can work well even under pressure.

SPQ Gold is the only tool available in the market to assess sales call reluctance. Using the tool, you can hire a strong sales team that will perform well despite all odds against them. Sales profiles are not easy profiles; it requires a high level of resilience to work under pressure and under heavy competition. They should be able to work as a team and not have their own goals and agendas. They should be able to fit in to the new environment fast and come up with their own new strategies handing the new market. Of course, there is no substitute to hard work; but their hard work should be done diligently. Above all, they should be highly optimistic people despite the gloomy financial environment.

When you use SPQ Gold sales assessment you will be able to identify both strong traits as well as the weak traits of the candidate helping you to pick the best sales team. You will also know the kind of training that should be given to your sales team. One of the advantages of SPQ Gold sales assessment is that the tests can be run online. In addition, you cannot find another effective method that is as cost-effective as SPQ Gold.

About the Author

Richard Bonn is the owner of Awesome Web Marketing. For more information on Richard please visit http://www.buildsalesteams.com

For more information you can visit http://www.buildsalesteams.com

SPQ Gold and Sales Call Reluctance are registered trademarks of Behavioral Sciences Research Press.

Getting Great Results When Things Aren't Really That Great

2009-10-01T17:00:00.000-07:00

Transition - it's the word of the times, isn't it? Right now, as so many organizations go through significant change, the phrase "business as usual" seems like an oxymoron. "Usual? There's nothing usual about the way I'm doing business in this economy," you might point out.

Your organization might be going through a merger, expanding or decreasing its employee base, or just operating in a difficult economy. Whatever the transition, the scenario affects your organization's business processes, sales, and employees. As a professional keynote speaker, what's interesting to me is that when times are tough, when there's an issue with the economy, some businesses do really well and some do not - and these are businesses in the same industry! For many, the economy is like pizza: When it's good, it's really good, and even when it's bad, it's still pretty good.

Differentiators

What I see making a big difference are attitude and belief. If you're walking around thinking things are tough, that's the mind-set you have. What you focus your attention on is what your life looks like. It's the vibe people get from you. It's going to be the way you present things. Looking at life through loser-colored glasses can undercut your chances to succeed.

So can you just believe your way to a rosier picture? It's not really about thinking positive thoughts and then just watching and waiting as good things come your way. That's a simple way to state the premise of Rhonda Byrne's successful book The Secret, but I have to say I'm not buying it. In fact, I think The Secret is definably not the secret. It makes perfect sense that any book telling you that belief without action will create success is definitely going to be a best-seller. While I think it's important to have a belief system, there's more to success than that.

Most companies - and most people - who succeed when times are tough make sure they get more focused on the needs of the customer in the moment. To succeed, we can't be stuck in the long-term needs we've identified over the years. That's probably not where the customer's head is right now. You've got to sharpen your focus on what's really important to customers here and now. If your customer's treading water (which is nothing more than controlled drowning), throw him a life preserver. You can teach him to swim later. Once you're past the crisis, there's always time to get customers back on track with what you know will benefit them long-term.

Act in the moment

Attitude and belief can help you through a tough time, but not by flat-out ignoring difficult circumstances or willing them to magically disappear. You have to first recognize that tough times are temporary and then work quickly to address the needs that arise during difficult conditions. So don't let the media tell you what your life looks like; remember that good news does not sell newspapers. Have you ever noticed that really depressing news stories are often followed by Prozac commercials?

You can't just will a sluggish economy to pick up instantly, but you can believe that it will bounce back over time - it always does. With that attitude, it makes sense to take action to meet people's most pressing needs until things bounce back and you can return to "business as usual."

Suppose you work for a company that's going through changes and you're afraid your division is about to be cut or your job is in jeopardy. That's when you have to figure out what your boss really, truly needs â€¦ besides a vacation. You might have to forget for a moment how brilliant you are and how all your grand ideas can push the company in fabulous new directions. Instead, you need to ask: What's a big deal right now? You stand to benefit greatly by turning your focus to the company's immediate needs. If you're doing work that's really important to your employer here and now, then when the chopping block comes down your boss will be looking in the other direction. It's like if you and co-worker are being chased by a bear - you don't have to outrun the bear, just your co-worker.

Critical and even negative thinking can have great strategic benefit, allowing you to spot trouble on the horizon. But when you insist on looking at life through loser lenses, it prevents you from seeing the effort you need to make.

People and companies that are really successful during times of transition often hav

About the Author

Garrison Wynn is a nationally known motivational keynote speaker, trainer, and consultant. He is the CEO and founder of Wynn Solutions, specializing in The Truth about Success.

e to work a little harder, investing more thought, more time, and even more money to do as well as they did before. But even though they expend more resources to perform as well as last year, they're not losing ground in a company-wide shake-up or industry-wide slump. Odds are, they're still moving forward. When business picks up again, they will have cemented their usefulness to employers and customers and can resume a better version of "business as usual."

Managing People the Right Way

2009-10-01T16:52:00.000-07:00

Whether you're the manager of two people at a manufacturing plant or 50 people with a Wall Street address, the rules of good management are the same. One of the most important items in Management 101 to address is:

• People work with you, not for you.

When introducing a team member in your department, kindly introduce them as: "I'd like to introduce you to Joanne. She works with me in Quality Control." This will leave a lasting impression on people above your title as they quickly realize you're a dedicated team player, recognizing the value of the great people who work with you. Additionally, it will give "Joanne" a boost, knowing that she is valuable to you and the company and promotes her feelings of self worth. No one is a "subordinate" of yours…leave that for the military!

Another critical tip which many management people forget is:

• Share your knowledge and background experiences with everyone who works with you.

Too many managers simply assign work for the people entrusted to them. Think of where you started…not at the top, I'll bet! Give everyone the benefit of the doubt that they are just as intelligent and worthy as you. More times than not, taking the time to share the whole picture of the project and where everyone fits into it will obtain the final results sooner and make you look like a bigger person. Failure to honor their questions, instead keeping everything "close to the vest", only shows a manager's insecurity. Unless you're associated with the FBI or CIA, there is no reason not to share your knowledge. Your staff will succeed and gain much under your direction, and it will filter through the grapevine that you're a fantastic person to work with which, of course, will tell upper management that you're ready for the next step up.

About the Author

Nan grew up fishing, camping, hunting, sailing, water & snow skiing, and horseback riding while spending the last 35 years in the financial world as a self-employed Portfolio Analyst. Visit her products of fun stuff like tents, boats, electronic chess sets, jumping stilts, electronic handheld games, etc. at http://www.SeriousFunStuff.com .

Listening Like a Leader

2009-10-01T16:49:00.000-07:00

Our studies of the most effective people in corporate America show that the top 2 percent are effective not because they executed best practices well. They did not make the most phone calls or have the best processes. They simply understood the truth about trust:

People do business with people they like.
They like people they trust.
They trust people who have a detectable level of compassion and competence.

Does it take time to build trust? The truth is that you have known people for five years who still don't trust you, and you've known some for five minutes who do. Our research shows that trust is usually created by showing a detectable level of concern. When people truly believe you are concerned for them, they tend to think you possess good judgment. After all, if you care about them, you must know what you are doing.

So what is the fastest and most effective way to show people that you care and you're competent?

Make sure they feel heard, which is more than just listening. I call it listening like a leader.

You are not a leader unless you have followers; a leader without followers is called a failure. Regardless of your skills, if your staff doesn't feel heard and doesn't trust you, they will always do the minimum. They will watch the clock and be ready to leave at 4:45 every afternoon. They will do just enough each day to avoid getting fired, and they will hope the idea you came up with without their input fails. That's right”you can spend your life delegating to people who want your projects to fail. How smart is that?

OK, you have to listen; I am sure you already know that. The issue is, how well do people really listen? Most studies show that 75 percent of the world's population does not listen well.

Here is an insight that you won't find in many books, leadership speaker keynotes or training programs. As a whole, we don't listen very well and it's not our fault! That's right, I am sure you are used to hearing and reading that all of our communication problems are of our making. However, most experts agree that from birth to 5 years of age, we learn more than we will for the rest of our lives.

Even if you earn 15 doctorate degrees in your lifetime, you still acquired most of your knowledge in early childhood. In those formative years, if a child does not feel heard by the adults in its life, it does not possess good listening skills. The bottom line is that it's hard to listen when no one ever listened to you.

Listening is not hereditary.
It's an acquired skill.

Are we going to blame the parents? No! It's difficult to listen to young children when we are trying to look out for their welfare. When my stepdaughter was five, she asked me if Dracula drives a taxi cab. I said, Well¦, I guess if it's a night job. Uh, wait a minute! What kind of question is that?

She also asked me if she could have a tattoo”not a fake, stick-on tattoo from an ice cream parlor vending machine, but a real one. I said, No, because you're in kindergarten”and I'm taking the TV out of your room just for asking that question.

People are more likely to follow your example than to follow your advice. We create better listeners by being better listeners.

Unfortunately, we don't have much evidence of people returning from communication-training programs as better listeners. It doesn't take a lot of research to figure out that poor listeners get very little from seminars on listening.

So we don't listen and it prevents us from being effective leaders. If we can't do much to improve our listening skills, we have to focus on what we can do in the condition we are in.

The key, then, is to focus on making sure people feel heard. And the first step requires recognizing and recovering from distractions.

One day, as I listened to an employee talk about his wants and needs, my mind started to wander. There he was, sharing his core issues, and I'm thinking to myself, â€œLook at the size of this guy's head! It was hard to focus. Once I was trying to listen to a prospect on a sales call when I noticed he had red hair, blonde eyebrows and a black mustache. I remember thinking, â€œIt's Mr. Potato Face! Something has to be a stick-on; that's not all him.

After we recover from our own distractions, we have to deal with the real issues at hand. The first of these issues is what I refer to as â€œthe pitch in your head. It can be anything from a preconceived idea that a manager has about an employee, to a practiced presentation that you are dying to spew on your unsuspecting sales victims (prospects, I mean).

Sure, you ask a question just as you were taught to do in your sales or management training programâ€”you know, a question like â€œBased on what criteria are your decisions made? As they talk and you diligently pretend to listen, the pitch in your head starts to play; and when the prospect says something that strikes a chord in you, triggering how much you know, your pitch finds the pause it was looking for and off you go.

â€œI know exactly what you are talking about because I have had many people just like you with this exact same situation. As a matter of fact, it was this time last year and they even looked a lot like you.

You then project your opinion, experience or spiel onto the person as a solution to his or her problem.

Instead of feeling heard, the person feels quickly judged, and communication does not take place. It was dead before the spew was finished.

The problem with this scenario is that you rob people of their uniqueness. When you tell them you know exactly what the problem is, they tend to want to show you how unique they are. You actually create your own resistance and prevent your skills and even your empathy from making their mark.

When people are talking, you are thinking about you or about what you can do to help them help you. It's a natural thing for us to do, and it forces us to pitch hard and focus on convincing rather than on gaining agreement.

So what do the most effective people do differently?

They make sure the people they are dealing with feel heard and can retain their uniqueness. If you make people feel important, you will be important to them!

But an even bigger realization comes from all of this.

When you focus on how people feel about what they are saying, you increase the level of true concern you have for others. You actually start to become the person you thought you were pretending to be: a true leader!

About the Author

Garrison Wynn is an author, motivational speaker and trainer providing business solutions for success.

What every business needs to know about the Red Flag Rules: Protect your business from potential liability

2009-09-26T20:12:00.001-07:00

By Hallie Hawkins JD and CITRMS

www.fileandgo.net

Are you a business owner? Are you on a Board of a company? Are you the in charge of Human Resources at a company? Has your company complied with the Red Flag FACTA rules?

Are you even aware of what they are? Are you aware if the company does not comply, there is potential liability?

The deadline to comply with the Red Flag Rules that were issued by the Federal Trade Commission is approaching once again. This requires "creditors" and "financial institutions" to develop written plans to prevent and detect identity theft. The new deadline is November 1, 2009.

One of the reasons for the delay has been the issue of which companies must comply. Initially, it seemed to affect a narrow group of businesses. Upon further interpretation, the need to comply has been broadened.

The Red Flag Rules certainly apply to financial institutions and they also apply to any “creditor.” Because of the confusion, the FTC has now provided a list of business entities that it BELIEVES the Red Flag Rules apply to. It is as follows:

• Doctors, dentists, and other health care providers;
• Accountants and lawyers;
• Utilities;
• Telecommunications companies;
• Debt collectors;
• Retailers; and
• Employee benefit plans sponsoring flexible spending account arrangements when the arrangement utilizes a debit card.

A company is not off the hook if they do not fit into that list. The actual determination will be based in part upon the risk of identity theft among the accounts the entity holds.

The formal obligation to comply with the Red Flag Rules applies to entities with covered accounts. The analysis of what a covered account is not necessary. The reality is that each company must look at how they actually function and the size and complexity of the business to determine what type of program should be put into place. Is there a reasonably foreseeable risk from identity theft in the way that the business in run? A company that determines there is a high risk of identity theft of customer information should have a comprehensive program. If it is determined that here is low risk, and then a simple written plan will do. If your company already has general identity theft and fraud prevention policies in place review them and incorporate the Red Flag Rules into existing policy.

It is not as difficult as it seems.

1. Identify the Red Flags issues that arise in the daily running of the business. This includes administration staff to outside sales. The general areas of concern are;

• Alerts, notifications or warnings from a consumer reporting agency;
• Suspicious documents;
• Suspicious personal identifying information;
• Unusual use of, or suspicious activity related to, the covered account; and
• Notice from customers, victims of identity theft, law enforcement authorities, or other persons regarding possible identity theft.

2. Detail specific procedures that can be used to DETECT those red flags on a daily operating basis, including education of managers and employees.

3. Detail specific procedure to prevent and stop any potential theft of critical informational including what should be done if critical information is stolen or lost.

4. Create a WRITTEN plan and update it yearly. Keep your staff- including newly hired staff- educated. They are the first line of defense. An upper level manager should be directly responsible for this area of policy.

The Federal Trade Commission Website has great resources including a way to walk through the analysis on line at http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/business.shtm

Every company should do this. Protect your company from potential liability.

Merger Acquisition Excel Templates

2009-08-31T18:44:00.000-07:00

Free Excel Spreadsheets

Top Five Capital Budgeting Analysis (xls) - Basic program for doing capital budgeting analysis with inclusion of opportunity costs, working capital requirements, etc. - Aswath Damodaran
Rating Calculation (xls) - Estimates a rating and cost of debt based on the coverage of debt by an organization - Aswath Damodaran
LBO Valuation (xls) - Analyzes the value of equity in a leverage buyout (LBO) - Aswath Damodaran
Synergy (xls) - Estimates the value of synergy in a merger and acquisition - Aswath Damodaran
Valuation Models (xls) - Rough calculation for choosing the correct valuation model - Aswath Damodaran
Risk Premium (xls) - Calculates the implied risk premium in a market. (uses macro's) - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
FCFE Valuation 3 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Equity (FCFE) Valuation Model for organizations with three stages of growth, high growth initially, decline in growth, and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
FCFF Valuation 1 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with stable growth rates - Aswath Damodaran
FCFF Valuation 2 (xls) - Free Cash Flow to Firm (FCFF) Valuation Model for organizations with two periods of growth, high growth initially and then stable growth - Aswath Damodaran
Time Value (xls) - Introduction to time value concepts, such as present value, internal rate of return, etc.
Lease or Buy a Car (xls) - Basic spreadsheet for deciding to buy or lease a car.
Top Five NPV & IRR (xls) - Explains Internal Rate of Return, compares projects, etc.
Real Rates (xls) - Demonstrates inflation and real rates of return.
Template (xls) - Template spreadsheet for project evaluation & capital budgeting.
Top Five Free Cash Flow (xls) - Cash flow worksheets - subsidized and unsubsidized.
Capital Structure (xls) - Spreadsheet for calculating optimal capital structures using different percents of debt.
WACC (xls) - Calculation of Weighted Average Cost of Capital using beta's for equity.
Statements (xls) - Generate a set of financial statements using two input sheets - operational data and financial data.
Bond Valuation (zip) - Calculates the value or price of a 25 year bond with semi-annual interest payments.
Buyout (zip) - Analyzes the effects of combining two companies.
Cash Flow Valuation (zip) - Walks through a valuation of cash flows under three models- capital cash flows, equity cash flows, and free cash flows.
Financial Projections (zip) - Spreadsheet model for generating projected financials along with valuation based on WACC.
Leverage (zip) - Shows the effects on Net Income from using debt (leverage).
Ratio Calculator (zip) - Calculates a standard set of ratios based on input of financial data.
Stock Value (zip) - Calculates expected return on stock and value based on no growth, growth, and variable growth.
CFROI (xls) - Simplified Cash Flow Return on Investment Model.
Financial Charting (zip) - Add on tool for Excel 97, consists of 6 files.
Risk Analysis (exe) - Analysis and simulation add on for excel, self extracting exe file.
Black Scholes Option Pricing (zip) - Excel add on for the pricing of options.
Cash Flow Matrix - Basic cash flow model.
Business Financial Analysis Template for start-up businesses from Small Business Technology Center
Forex (zip) - Foreign market exchange simulation for Excel
Hamlin (zip) - Financial function add-on's for Excel
Tanly (zip) - Suite of technical analysis models for Excel
Financial History Pivot Table - Microsoft Financials
Income Statement What If Analysis
Breakeven Analysis (zip) - Pricing and breakeven analysis for optimal pricing - Biz Pep.
SLG Ratio Master (exe) - Excel workbook for creating 25 key performance ratios.
DCF - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Discounted Cash Flow Analysis from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
History - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Historical Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
Proforma - Menu driven Excel program (must enable macros) for Pro-forma Financial Statements from the book Analysis for Financial Management by Robert C. Higgins - Analysis for Financial Management
Business Valuation Model (zip) - Set of tabbed worksheets for generating forecast / valuation outputs. Includes instruction sheet. Bizpep
LBO Model - Excel model for leveraged buy-outs
Comparable Companies - Excel valuation model comparing companies
Combination Model - Excel valuation model for combining companies
Top Five Balanced Scorecard - Set of templates for building a balanced scorecard.
Cash Model - Template for calculating projected financials from CFO Connection
Techniques of Financial Analysis - Workbook of 11 templates (breakeven, valuation, forecasting, etc.) from ModernSoft
Ratio Reminder (zip) - Simple worksheet of comparative financials and corresponding ratios from Agilicor
Risk Analysis IT - Template for assessing risk of Information Technology - Audit Net
Risk Analysis DW - Template for assessing risk of Data Warehousing - Audit Net
Top Five Excel Workbook 1-2 - Set of worksheets for evaluating financial performance and forecasting - Supplemental Material for Short Course 1 and 2 on this website.
Rule Maker Essentials - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering financial data - The Motley Fool
Rule Maker Ranker - Excel Template for scoring a company by entering comparable data - The Motley Fool
IPO Timeline - Excel program for Initial Public Offerings (must enable macros)
Assessment Templates - Set of templates for assessing an organization based on the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Model.
Cash Gap in Days - Spreadsheet for calculating number of days required for short-term financing.
Cash Flow Template - Simple cash flow model with explanations of each cash flow component - Arkansas Small Business Development Center.
Six Solver Workbook (zip) - Set of various spreadsheets for solving different business problems (inventory ordering, labor scheduling, working capital, etc.).
Free Cash Flow Valuation - Basic Spreadsheet Valuation Model
Finance Examples - Seven examples in Business Finance - Solver
Capital Budgeting Workbook - Several examples of capital budgeting analysis, including the use of Solver to select optimal projects.
Present Value Tables (rtf) - Set of present value tables written in rich text format, compatible with most word processors. Includes examples of how to use present value tables.
Investment Valuation Model (zip) - Valuation model of companies (must enable macros) - Excel Business Tools
Cash Flow Sensitivity (xlt) - Sensitivity analysis spreadsheet - Small Business Store
What If Analysis - Set of templates for sensitivity analysis using financial inputs.
Risk Return Optimization - Optimal project selection (must enable macro's) - Metin Kilic
CI - Basics #1 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.
CI - Basics #2 - Basic spreadsheet illustrating competitive analysis - Business Tools Templates.
External Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).
Internal Assessment - Assessment questions for organizational assessment (must enable macros).
Formal Scorecard - Formal Balanced Scorecard Spreadsheet Model (3.65 MB / must enable macros) - Madison Area Quality Improvement Network.
Project Plan - Project Scheduling Template currently setup for a Balanced Scorecard Project.
Gantt Chart - Gantt chart for project management with work plan - Jim Chapman's Web Site
E O Q Model - Simple Inventory Models for calculating Economic Order Quantity.
Inventory Simulation Control Model - Formal model for simulating inventory shortages, delivery times, costs, backorders, and optimal inventory levels - John McClain
Financial Projections Model - A comprehensive financial model for forecasting a complete set of financials with breakeven and valuation tabs developed by Frank Moyes and Stephen Lawrence at Leeds School of Business.
Option Trading Workbook - Educational toolkit for using Excel for Options - Option Trading Tips
Financial Model - A nice clean financial model driven by different calculators (such as Company, Market, Subscribers, etc.) developed by Bill Snow.
Forecasting Model - Step by step financial model for forecasting financials created by Sam Gui
Economic Evaluation - Step by step workbook for evaluating the economics of a system investment - Automated Concepts

(http://www.exinfm.com/free_spreadsheets.html)

The greatest opportunity in Merger History is RIGHT NOW?

2008-11-18T14:52:00.001-08:00

Private equity groups coming out of the wood works, Investment bankers out of business, credit no longer available, and stock prices massively depressed and undervalued. All of these factors combined have created the world’s most amazing climate for a private or public company to merge with a larger public company.

Right now our firm Private Equity Consultants is working with a company valued at 150 million, and the public company that they are considering merging with has had their stock price depressed from $70/share to $6 dollars a share during our bear market. Realistically in the next 5 years we believe that the long term value of the company is $40 a share. Since the private company (our client) has to be paid fair value in today’s stock price, in order for a stock swap transaction not to trigger a taxable event, thus creating a incredible upside for our client. Our client stands to gain about 8 times the current value of the company netting the owners of the company roughly a 800% increase in value for their company because they were smart enough to exit the business during this bear market. This transaction could turn our client’s $150 mill company value into $1.2 Billion in the next 3-5 years. We view this as an amazing value play, and a heck of a retirement plan.

This type of opportunity exists all over our current market. Any company that merges with a larger public company stands to make a lot of money over the next Bull Run, as long as that company has the prospect of making it firmly through our current bear/ recession filled market.

Joshua Hadley
480-430-3894
jhadley@businessvaluez.com

Do I need an appraisal to Sell my company?

2008-09-24T14:39:00.000-07:00

Do I really need an business appraisal in order to sell my company or is that just a service that you are selling me? This question is tough even for ME (someone who deals in business sale transactions on a daily basis). I meet with business owners everyday, and everyone who is looking at the prospect of selling their company always asks, the appraisal question, do I need one, or should I pay for one. I will answer the question very simply, if you are going to sell your car you want to have all the records or registration "right", value from kelly blue book, and maintenance records in order to make buyers feel like they are paying a fair price for your car. Fortunately we can all get on KBB.com and find out what our car is worth on the market today.

Valuing a company is a little more complex, than just getting on the Internet and spitting out a value, we need to pay an appraiser between $5k and $25k depending on the size of the business to do a in depth analysis, recast of the financials and give back up data on every reason why the business is worth what it is worth. This shows the buyer that they should pay what we are asking and not haggle with you on price but only on terms of the sale. I think that the appraisal is a great supporting document that will cut out a lot of negotiation and help your deal close quicker.

As you contemplate the whether "to pay or not to pay" for a business appraisal always remember that with the powerful combination of a business intermediary and the right supporting documentation you will get 30-50% more for your business when it finally closes than if you try to sell your company yourself with out the appraisal.

Contact me if you need a appraisal or a brokers opinion of value BPO.

Joshua Hadley
480-430-3894
jhadley@businessvaluez.com

Sitting on the Fence in this economy (BAD IDEA)

2008-09-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Every morning I turn on my TV and see what they are saying on CNBC about the economy. I usually love watching it and gather insights each time I view it. However over the past few months I am getting sick and tired of how the media is displaying the current economic situation, yes I agree we should take action on the things that need reform and regulation, but come on the more that we give in to what the media is feeding us the more we perpetuate the perceived economic crisis.

This also applies to sellers of businesses, I have noticed a lot people that are interested in selling their company are sitting on the fence "we are waiting to see what this economy will do, once it stabilizes then we will sell" Bad idea, their are more buyers than ever out there right now looking to buy good companies. More buyers means higher price for their business, when equity growth in an economy dries up people go back to what made them wealthy in the first place, CASH FLOW. Good steady cash flow is what investors want right now, equity growth is no longer on their mind if they can get 15-20% on the bottom line of a solid company, and will pay a great price for that cash flow.

If you own a business and have considered selling please call me for a free analysis, I am tuned into the market and I know what is going on now, and I am apart of deal that are actually happening NOW, and the deals have not stopped and sellers are still getting great prices for their businesses. Remember in a down economy all the small competition goes away, and mid-size businesses gain all those customers. So contrary to what you think should happen well positioned mid size companies can still grow in this economy.

Joshua Hadley
480-430-3894
jhadley@businessvlauez.com

Selling Your Insurance Agency or Book of Business

2008-09-23T15:22:00.000-07:00

I have been approached with this question so many times I am losing count. How much is my insurance practice or book of business worth? To answer this question I will draw upon my experience as a intermediary and bring to light some of the things to avoid when selling your insurance agency, or book of business.

In the first Insurance agency deal I was ever apart of I had a buyer that was looking for a small independent broker. I found one that was doing $232,000 a year in commissions, and the asking price was $585,000 or 2.52 times annual commissions. I knew from my searches that it was difficult to find independent insurance agencies for sale so I encouraged the buyers to make a offer quickly. The seller really liked my buyer and accepted and offer for $550,000 or 2.3 times commissions. Because most books of business sell for 2 times commissions this deal was a little higher priced than most but I still think my buyer got a fair deal, based on his needs and the sellers willingness to carry some of the loan.

Steps to selling your agency or book of business:

1. Get your book of business evaluated by a professional business intermediary
2. Establish a asking price for selling your insurance agency
3. Sign a listing agreement with a qualified business intermediary
4. Shop your deal for multiple offers
5. Accept a offer and begin the negotiation process
6. Negotiate the deal and provide buyer Due diligence documents
7. Finalize negotiations and close the deal

Even though I have outlined the steps to selling your book of business, I don't recommend you go it alone, this can be like representing yourself in a court case, although you may know all the facts better than anyone, you may be emotionally attached to your business and that makes it dangerous for you to go it alone. Call me we will evaluate your book for free, and also help you structure a deal that will get you maximum benefit when you sell it.

Joshua Hadley
480-430-3894
jhadley@businessvaluez.com