PYA leads Wednesday workshop for inaugural cohort of the “Spark Innovation Center”
Two key members of the team at PYA, the power behind teknovation.biz, led a workshop for the members of the inaugural cohort of the “Spark Innovation Center” operated by the University of Tennessee Research Park (UTRP) at Cherokee Farm.
The session was one of four that UTRP is organizing for the six cohort members and the first of two where PYA staff will be providing insights and expertise. Representatives of all six teams participated in the roughly 90-minute event.
In opening the workshop, John Bruck, Senior Business Advisor for Spark, noted that the discussion would be very detailed, but important for the companies that are working to aggressively commercialize their respective technologies. “PYA really exemplifies what I think is ideal in a strategic partner,” he told the members of the cohort. “PYA truly cares about your success.”
Mike Shamblin (pictured left), Managing Principal of Audit and Assurance Services, and Steven Ezell, Senior Tax Manager, respectively covered two key areas – prospective financial statements (i.e., forward looking that could be either forecasts or projections) that would be sought by more sophisticated investors and a variety of tax issues including revenue and expense recognition, choice of entity considerations, tax filing requirement, and cash planning– during the virtual event yesterday morning.
Ezell went first and concluded his presentation with this admonition: “Consider tax early on and in almost anything you do.” During his presentation, Shamblin explained the difference between a forecast and a projection. The former represents what the responsible party thinks will happen, while the latter represents a “what if” analysis.
PYA staff will also participate in the third workshop scheduled in early January.
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