Originally published in the Los Angeles Business Journal. The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently released “Fraud Section Year in Review 2021.” This annual report showcases not only what the DOJ accomplished in 2021 but also provides insights on its priorities for 2022. Additionally, recent comments from the President and senior officials leave little doubt abo [...]

GHJ Profit Participation Practice Leader Ilan Haimoff and Jason Squire, USC School of Cinematic Arts Professor Emeritus and editor of The Movie Business Book Fourth Edition, are back for another episode of the “Movie Business Podcast” series. Today they talk to Quinn Emanuel Partner Bobby Schwartz about “The New Normal” from a legal perspective in a post-COVID world [...]

Originally published in July 2014. 1. FAILING TO NEGOTIATE HARD ENOUGH ON THEIR TALENT DEALS Dealing with talent agencies can be challenging for an independent producer, who may be less able to negotiate the cost of their above-the-line cost. Often, the independent producer ends up paying too much for talent, making the production budget uneconomical from the start. [...]

Recently, large companies such as PepsiCo and Nestle have invested in implementing digital innovation and data analytics through technologies such as predictive and prescriptive analytics, artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning. These investments have led to deep insights into the ability to run their businesses in a more efficient and precise manner in [...]

Unlike compliance services, such as tax preparation or financial statement audits that represent more of a commodity service offering, profit participation audits represent a forensic consulting engagement. In most cases this requires extensive, specialized experience and can only be performed once. Therefore, as we learned from Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom: “ [...]

Profit participation agreements generally include incontestability language, which only allows the profit participant to audit statements issued up to two or possibly three years prior to the date of the audit notification. On one hand, the rationale for this restriction may come from the challenge of storing documents, so the longer the tolling period, the longer the [...]

It is no secret that the food and beverage industry has experienced a tumultuous couple of years, and unfortunately, strains from the pandemic still linger. With the new year, what are some of the trends seen in 2021, and what will be coming down the pipeline in the future? As GHJ’s Food and Beverage Practice Leader, I recently had the opportunity to join industry e [...]

The streaming era is upon us. As major releases made their way online instead of movie theatres, studios have had to rethink the way they make offers. Major news developments have continued to transform the way profitability is calculated and, in turn, the way deals are made. Dan Scharf, head of global business affairs for Amazon Studios, joins hosts Ilan Haimoff [...]

Also authored by, Morgan Dipo, SVP, Commercial Banking, Bank of America Inflation is in the news again after a hiatus of several decades. Consumers are experiencing increases in the cost of living in many segments of their monthly spending, and it is changing how they spend and how businesses keep up with uncertainty in pricing. As measured by the Consumer Price Ind [...]

GHJ Search and Staffing Practice Leader Derrick Coleman hosts this episode of the Business Disruption and Resilience Podcast all about The Great Resignation. Derrick is joined by GHJ Chief People Officer Alex Seiler and the Children’s Bureau Chief People Officer Kymberly Garrett for a discussion about employee recruitment and retention. They compare and contrast how [...]