Banks

ASSURANCE SERVICES

Directors' Examination

Not all banks are required to have an annual audit of their financial statements. A directors' examination allows you to specify the procedures you want done that provide the greatest value to your institution without a full financial statement audit. Insight from a directors' examination can empower you to address concerns, take corrective measures and proactively improve your procedures.

An examination can provide a wide variety of procedures, including loan confirmations, reconciliations of subsidiary ledgers, and confirmations on correspondent bank accounts, reviews to reconcile items on bank statements, allowance for loan loss methodology, high level analytics on income statements, operational year-over-year reviews, employee account reviews, and more.

Financial Statement Audits

Whether or not you are required by law to do so, a financial statement audit or balance sheet audit provides the insight you need to make confident business decisions. You need to know if your allowance for loan losses or other significant estimates are in accordance with GAAP and reasonable to the financial statements as a whole. A full financial statement audit includes an opinion on balance sheets, income statements, statement of comprehensive income, and changes in stockholders’ equity, cash flows, and related footnotes.

An audit doesn't have to be a cumbersome experience for you and your staff. An experienced team of trusted advisors can not only conduct a smooth and timely audit, but also take that information and provide feedback on how to improve your operations.

REGULATORY CONSULTING

Your regulatory burden is time-consuming and unavoidable. A constantly shifting landscape of compliance is the new standard for the industry. Having a team that can provide timely, attentive expertise and resources for compliance can ease the strain of those duties and help you keep your focus on growing your business.

Tax Planning

Tax planning for banks is a critical component to sustain organizational success and maximize shareholder value. Taxes have a major impact on earnings and capital and require proper management and planning. In addition, the expansion of business across borders means multi-state tax reporting issues and regulatory changes demand more of management’s attention. Entity selection and organization structure should be careful considerations because it has a significant impact on how taxes are assessed on an organization and its shareholders. Tax planning can ensure that your bank’s business strategy is on track and that you are well-positioned for the future.

Business Continuation Services

When your bank plans for changes in ownership, you'll need expertise and resources to ensure your business has the strategies in place to grow as the future evolves. Business continuation services, like wealth transfer planning, critical incident and recovery planning, and succession planning create a comprehensive roadmap for the transition. The roadmap will offer you peace of mind that your bank and personal wealth will transition smoothly when ownership changes.

Executive Compensation Planning

One of the top challenges facing a bank is attracting and retaining talent in key management and executive positions. Well-designed compensation plans should balance an executive’s focus between short-term and long-term personal and career goals and create common goals among shareholders and the executive. Compensation plans can also motivate key management personnel and executives in day-to-day performance using performance metrics directly tied to the performance of the bank.

Payroll and Information Reporting

Payroll must be completed in a timely manner, without exception. The administrative aspect of processing payroll takes time away from building relationships with your customers and your staff, managing your bank and the things that matter most. By outsourcing this demanding task, you can make sure your bank never misses a payroll. And you can ensure the process is done right--all the time, every time.

Tax Authority Assistance

Federal and state tax rules are constantly evolving and increasingly complex. To add to that, tax authorities are becoming increasingly aggressive and sophisticated in their examination and collection activities. Proper tax planning and tax strategies are vital to help you minimize your tax burden and remain successful in a very competitive environment. If you do run into issues with a tax authority, correspondence in a timely manner and with appropriate technical knowledge can help minimize exposure to examination adjustments and possible tax assessments.

CONSULTING SERVICES

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning is a critical step in determining the direction that a bank outlines for its future. During these unusual economic times, banks are realizing that both tactical training and strategic planning need to be addressed. But for a plan to be effective, it needs to be followed with specific tactics that outline the steps to success.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Consolidation in the banking industry has had a significant impact on the industry over the last several years. Increasing regulatory burdens, succession issues and strategic growth objectives may influence a buy/sell discussion. Involving M&A specialists throughout the deal’s life cycle can help to ensure a successful transaction, from target identification through post-closing support. Even the friendliest transaction may have a few setbacks, so an objective third party can help ensure the best possible deal for you.

Loan File Review

The Interagency Policy Statement on the Allowance for Loan and Lease Losses (ALLL) requires your bank to develop and institute an effective loan inspection system that is appropriate for your size and the nature of your lending activities, with controls that identify, monitor and address asset quality problems in an accurate and timely manner.

Initiating a loan file review assists your bank with identifying risk potential and ultimately protecting your assets.

Interest Rate Risk

In light of the current interest rate environment and greater regulatory pressure to have strong practices in place for managing IRR, third-party IRR assessments are increasing in demand. Boards and senior management teams are expected to understand the impact of changing rates on their institution’s capital and earnings and must be diligent in implementing various strategies for mitigating any significant adverse exposure identified. An independent IRR review helps ensure an institution has a comprehensive framework—including effective oversight, policies, risk limits and reporting tools—for appropriately managing its risk exposure. An assessment results in greater confidence in the quality of your institution’s IRR management practices.

Core Processing Analysis

Your core system is a critical component of your institution, which makes the relationship you have with your vendor or vendors a critical aspect as well. However, the complexity of options and the negotiation process can make the process seem overwhelming and too time consuming to accomplish. At the end of the day, you want to make sure your bank or credit union is getting the most value out of your contracts and vendor relationships.

Eide Bailly has the expertise to help you tackle this process with efficiency and the best possible outcome. Our experienced professionals can help with any software utilized in your organization, and they take the time to listen to your needs and goals so they can assist management with identifying the solution(s) that best match your organization’s strategic objectives.

Our process includes three phases:

• Core Processing Evaluation – We review and evaluate your existing contracts.
• Core Processing Selection – We help you create a list of requirements and assist with selection.
• Technology Contract Negotiation – We participate and advise in negotiations.