Rich Gunn

CPA, CEPA

Partner, Advisory

Location: San Francisco

Services: Business Transformation, Exit Planning Strategy, Forensic Accounting Litigation Support, Forensic Accounting for Family Law and Divorce, Outsourced Accounting

Industries: Consumer Business, Professional Services

Project name

Rich is a Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA) and member of the Exit Planning Institute, who has been helping business owners succeed for over 25 years. His professional mission is to lead business owners to maximize business value, be exit-ready at all times, and lead business owners to a successful transition and exit from their business.

“Business owners are far too focused on the day-to-day events within their business, and they wait too long to focus on building their exit value. This requires a change of mindset and behavior. Business owners should be focused on building exit value every day, and for that reason he teaches clients how to employ the concept of value acceleration:

  1. Value acceleration facilitates having the business running at optimal efficiency, improved cash flow, and highest operating results.
  2. Value acceleration frees the owners from being trapped inside the business, to being in position of control and focusing on building enterprise value.
  3. Value acceleration makes certain that the business is ready for sale at all times, which means that the business is:
      • Well-positioned for growth.
      • Ready for transition to key employees or family members.
      • Will have a premium value in the marketplace.

When a business owner believes that exit seems too far in the future to address now, I explain that procrastination results in lost value, and extreme procrastination can result in irrevocable loss of value. Value acceleration is something business owners should be focused on every day. We have a process for teaching business owners exactly how to do that.”

Rich is the author of the Business Owners Special Series, a library of articles on value acceleration, exit planning and succession planning.

Richard Gunn holds an active CPA license in California.

Interesting tidbit

Rich is a crime fiction junky. He also seeks out cutting-edge music in local venues, and he loves small, independent theater and plays. You may spot Rich riding around San Francisco on his steel-frame bike, which he rides about 300 to 400 miles per month (mostly while commuting) or enjoying fine coffee and craft beer.

Certifications
  • Certified Exit Planning Advisor (CEPA)
  • Certified Public Accountant
Community
  • Member – Exit Planning Institute (EPI)
  • Member – American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
  • Member – California Society of Certified Public Accountants (CalCPA)
  • Member – Leading Edge Alliance of CPAs, Certified Exit Planning Advisors Forum
  • Past President and Chairman of the San Francisco Small Business Network
  • Past writer, producer and host of the “small business segment” of the weekly cable TV show, SF Business
  • Founding member of the Small Business Advocates in San Francisco.
  • In 1997, he was awarded the Champion of Small Business by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
  • Formerly taught the Choice of Entity course at the Small Business Development Center in San Francisco.
  • Served as the small business representative and planning committee member for the San Francisco Economic Summit, Children, Youth & Families Summit, and the Welfare Reform Task Force under Mayor Willie Brown’s administration.
Education

BA/Accounting – Bernard M. Baruch College, City University of New York

Experience
  • Value Acceleration
  • Exit Planning
  • Succession Planning
  • Owner-managed Businesses
  • Choice of Entity
  • Buy-Sell Agreements
  • Tax Planning: Individuals, S Corporation, LLC & C Corporations

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