Tom Barry’s new blog series, “OWNING the New Normal: Innovators creating the way forward,” will focus on business leaders exploring the current and evolving business environment. The discussion will revolve around recognizing that leaders must innovate and pivot to “own” the future and move forward. This is the first in the series. Higher education has seen huge [...]

COVID-19 has shifted many industry sectors of the workforce. For companies that are able, social distancing measures have made remote work the new norm. Employees are transforming homes into workspaces, often simultaneously managing childcare and personal obligations. Businesses are facing difficult decisions about how to adapt and survive this profound shift, and hir [...]

Welcome back to GHJ’s Movie Business Podcast Series with hosts Ilan Haimoff, Partner at GHJ, and Jason E. Squire, Professor at USC School of Cinematic Arts and Editor of The Movie Business Book Fourth Edition. This week’s guest is Linda Benjamin, IMAX Senior Vice President of Entertainment Business Affairs and Operations, who previously served as President of Global S [...]

In the wake of the COVID-19 stay-at-home orders, business owners should examine their company’s liquidity position and assure availability of staying power, whether or not there are additional waves of shutdowns. In this environment, it is critical to have sufficient liquidity to be both offensive and defensive with a business. Planning for an Uncertain Future Owner [...]

Originally published in Los Angeles Business JournalThe COVID-19 pandemic has forced companies to re-invent themselves in the short term. For many, the priority has been to weather the economic fallout by maintaining adequate cash flow and ensuring overall liquidity, all while keeping their employees safe. As the region slowly begins to emerge from this crisis there w [...]

Consumers have so much more power in reducing food waste. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, very little food is wasted in poor and developing countries, whereas, in the U.S., nearly 40 percent or 150 billion pounds, of the food supply is thrown away annually. During a recent audit engagement, I was introduced to the term Responsible Vendor Sourcing Pro [...]

GHJ Entertainment Partner Ilan Haimoff and Guest Speaker Jeff Cole, USC Professor and Director of the Center for the Digital Future, discuss the lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the entertainment industry. How will movie theaters, studios and streaming services recover, and what does that recovery look like in the long-term? Hear the experts discuss the outl [...]

According to the AICPA, the borrower has an option: either treat the PPP loan as debt or as a government grant. The fact that there is a choice reflects the current vast diversity of opinions on the question. AICPA Guidance The AICPA’s recent Technical Q&A states: Given the unique nature of the PPP, questions have arisen relating to how a borrower under the pro [...]

On June 11, 2020, in response to changes created by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (“TCJA”), the IRS released much anticipated guidance for 1031 exchanges in the form of proposed regulations. In the regulations, the IRS addresses the definition of “real property” since 1031 exchanges are now limited to real property for exchanges completed after Dec. 31, 2017. Sinc [...]

The COVID-19 pandemic is as unprecedented medically as it is financially. Never before has there been a period in which all business have had to collectively look at their liquidity and assess the short-term future in such a critical manner. Such situations are typically reserved for discrete business models, niches or geographies. For every single business to contemp [...]