Industries
Construction & Real Estate Dealerships Energy Financial Services Health Care Individuals Insurance Services Manufacturing & Distribution Not-for-Profit & Government Private Equity Retail Service Organizations Transportation Utilities
Experience Ideas
A successful automobile dealership organized as a C corporation wanted to pay out to its owners substantial salary and bonuses. After conducting extensive tax case and industry research, BKD structured a bonus formula and advised the dealership to report and adopt the formula in its corporate minutes.

When selected for examination by the IRS, the dealership learned that compensation would likely be an issue. However, because of the research and the inclusion of the formula in the corporate minutes, the IRS chose not to propose an adjustment to the owners’ compensation.

Later, the dealership made plans to acquire a new showroom facility, assuming the C corporation would simply purchase the new facility. But BKD proposed an alternative approach. We advised the dealership to put the real estate into a “pass-through” entity that could rent the facility to the corporation at a fair market rental rate, thereby improving cash flow and avoiding payroll tax.

The result:  two strategies that upon implementation produced tax savings for the client.

Dealerships

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Benefits of Working With BKD
  • Experienced professionals knowledgeable about dealerships
  • A deep resource of dealership expertise within our firm, including one of the largest tax practices in the central U.S.
  • Access to our most experienced partners:  our partner-to-staff ratio of one to five means you’ll find our partners on the job
  • A broad network of resources beyond our core accounting and tax services:  wealth management, corporate finance, forensics, information technology and more
  • Exceptional quality controls - A firm our size has extraordinary quality control processes and protocols that improve the likelihood of zero errors; we do things right
  • Reasonable fees - Our fees are priced fairly for the quality and due diligence we invest in every client engagement
More than 130 auto, truck and equipment dealerships rely on BKD for advice on accounting, tax and general business issues. Our solutions help dealers make smart business and financial decisions that improve profitability and streamline operations. We can do the same for you.

As one of the 10 largest CPA and advisory firms in the country, BKD has professionals throughout our 11-state area with significant dealership experience. We know dealerships are different from other businesses, and you won’t have to train our staff about the unique aspects of running a dealership. We know what they are.

In addition to the traditional accounting and tax solutions you would expect from a CPA firm, BKD offers other services that can help protect and grow your business. For example, our certified fraud examiners can help you reduce the risk of fraud damaging your operation.

You also may need to have your dealership valued as part of a sale or ownership succession planning or need guidance on selecting and implementing a new computer system. Perhaps you’re looking at an exit strategy or need the advice of an experienced investment manager, such as one of our BKD Wealth Advisors professionals.

In all these ways—and more—BKD can help. Here’s a summary of solutions we bring to our dealership clients:

Assurance

Tax

  • Accounting method changes
  • Cost segregation studies
  • Estate planning
  • Income, franchise and property tax issues
  • LIFO elections, calculations and planning
  • Return preparation, corporate and individual
  • Trade discounts
  • WealthPlan solutions

Management & Operations

For More Information

Contact your BKD advisor or:

Jamie McDonald
Senior Manager
417.865.8701