Fixed Asset Advisory Services
Experience, Expertise & Solutions to Maximize Returns
Fixed assets are integral to the operation of manufacturing, distribution and services businesses. An accurate understanding of a company's or prospective acquisition's fixed assets is crucial to maximizing and achieving expected returns. Private sector and public clients have varying fixed asset related challenges. Both rely on accurate information to account for, report on, control and manage their real and personal property assets. B. Riley's fixed asset advisory services (FAAS) fall within three main focus areas:
- Compliance & Reporting
- Tax Services
- Transaction Due Diligence & Risk Management
B. Riley has decades of unparalleled fixed asset experience, both as business operators and service providers. Our team of over 120 seasoned professionals is located across the country with backgrounds in tax, valuation, engineering, finance, accounting, real estate and construction. On an annual basis, we typically carry out over 1,500 assignments, perform over 400 facility inspections and typically visit 87 million square feet, domestically and internationally. Our team utilizes cutting edge technology and methods in valuing a company's fixed assets.
Compliance & Reporting
Fixed assets often represent the greatest asset on a
company's balance sheet. Due to increased regulation and reporting requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as well as increased IFRS reporting, companies face increased scrutiny. Inaccurate fixed asset records containing information gaps, such as ghost assets or prior dispositions, indecipherable asset descriptions,
lack of asset location or identification and tag number, or grouped line items
containing multiple assets, can increase
risk to financial, tax and regulatory compliance and reporting. We offer a
number of solutions to deal with these oftentimes overwhelming and complex
issues.
- Fixed asset policy and procedures review or development (acquisition to disposal)
- Physical asset inventory and fixed asset management system reconciliation
- Fixed asset remaining useful life review and analysis
- Physical asset tagging
- Fixed asset componentization
Tax Services
There are numerous implications related to fixed assets spanning state, federal and international tax law. Deficient fixed asset recordkeeping and management can lead to excessive federal and property tax payments, excessive utility costs, penalties related to the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) and other significant fines through state and federal audits. We can help you to reduce these liabilities, defer tax payments, and in some cases, provide a tax refund. We offer solutions for each of the following issues:
- Cost segregation studies (federal tax deferral or deduction)
- Renewal energy segregation studies and validation (federal tax deferral or immediate deduction)
- Tangible property regulations services (federal tax deferral or immediate deduction)
- Tax purchase price allocation (federal tax deferral or immediate deduction)
- Property tax asset listing inventory and reconciliation procedures (state & local tax reduction or refund)
- Property tax exemption studies (pollution control, etc.) (state & local tax reduction or refund)
- Property tax cost segregation studies (state & local tax reduction or refund)
- Property tax valuation services (state & local tax reduction or refund)
- Property tax filing studies or obsolescence analysis (state & local tax reduction or refund)
- Prominent use study (state & local tax reduction or refund)
- FIRPTA study
Transaction Due Diligence & Risk Management
Public and private companies make a significant investment in their fixed assets and rely on them to meet their operational needs. Understanding the risks and analytics associated with fixed assets is paramount to managing an existing business or when considering expansion through capital investment or acquisition of another company. B. Riley has expertise in many of the crucial assumptions and decisions made with regards to fixed assets. Our team has experience in every aspect of the life cycle of fixed assets: Planning and acquisition, expectation of useful life, maintenance and capital expenditure requirement, retirement and disposition. We offer tailored solutions for each of the following:
- New asset procurement - comparative benchmarking, pricing and functionality analysis
- CapEx and maintenance planning and projection analysis
- Growth projection feasibility studies
- Economic and normal useful life study - planning, reporting, sale leaseback, etc.
- Condition assessment analysis
- Utilization studies
- Value assessments
- Fixed asset disposition planning and pricing analysis
