BDO Solutions Winter 2015 by BDO USA

Winter 2015

SIMPLIFYING a daily ROUTINE ExactCare Pharmacy is changing the way patients view pharmacies by delivering a new level of care

breaking down Dinovite

focus on Big Data

people first Knowing What Matters

THE NEXT CHAPTER OF EVOLUTION It seems only fitting — in an issue of Solutions that focuses on how successful businesses reinvent themselves, adapt and deal with change — that we first take a look at how SS&G evolved over the years to become part of BDO.

SS&G OFFICES NOW PART OF BDO AKRON 301 Springside Drive Akron, OH 44333

CHICAGO 225 West Illinois St., Suite 300 Chicago, IL 60654

CINCINNATI BLUE ASH 7870 Kemper Road, Suite 280 Cincinnati, OH 45249

CINCINNATI DOWNTOWN 221 East 4th Street, Suite 100 Cincinnati, OH 45202

CLEVELAND 32125 Solon Road Cleveland, OH 44139

CLEVELAND DOWNTOWN 1422 Euclid Ave., Suite 1500 Cleveland, OH 44115

COLUMBUS 300 Spruce St., Suite 250 Columbus, OH 43215

DES PLAINES 1665 Elk Blvd. Des Plaines, IL 60016

SKOKIE 8707 Skokie Blvd., Suite 400 Skokie, IL 60077

SS&G PARKLAND (now part of BDO Consulting) 32125 Solon Road Cleveland, OH 44139

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or a firm to grow as strong as SS&G, it had to start with a solid foundation. Ours was laid back in 1968, with the merger of the practices of Theodore Saltz and Marvin Shamis and acquisition of the practice of Eugene and Walter Page. Through the dedication and hard work of fewer than 10 employees occupying just 3,200 square feet of office, the firm began serving individuals, businesses and organizations in the Northeast Ohio community. “From the beginning, our goals have always stayed consistent. It’s been about growth, being employee-centric, and providing world-class customer service,” says Gary Shamis, who acted as managing director of SS&G for 27 years and currently serves as national strategy and growth advisor at BDO. Those consistent goals helped us establish a reputation in the industry for exceptional client service, customized solutions and innovative ideas. It was a reputation that attracted the attention of Mark Goldfarb in 1987, when he joined his practice with the existing Page, Saltz & Shamis to form Saltz, Shamis & Goldfarb. “My vision was to try to build an entrepreneurial firm that focused on great client service and offered more opportunities for people — something we certainly achieved,” says Goldfarb, who served as a senior managing director at SS&G before becoming the Ohio managing partner for key client relationships and growth strategies at BDO. As the name on the door changed over the years — from Saltz, Shamis & Goldfarb — Certified Public Accountants, to SS&G Financial Services to SS&G — the firm continued to build strong relationships with closely held and family-owned businesses and to attract top-notch professionals. A friendly, flexible culture developed that created an environment where people wanted to stay.

“I am proud that we have so many people who stayed with SS&G for so many years. The retention of our people amazes me,” says Shamis, who notes that retaining talented professionals drove the success of the firm. Having remarkably talented leaders at the helm drove the firm’s expansion into Illinois and New York and helped push SS&G to become one of the top 50 accounting firms in the country. When Bob Littman stepped in as CEO for SS&G in May 2013, he was leading almost 600 professionals in 10 offices. “As big as we got, the culture at our firm remained centered on creating opportunities for our people and providing proactive ideas to help our clients grow,” says Littman, who now serves as the managing partner of Ohio and sits on BDO USA’s board of directors. This shared entrepreneurial focus and belief in the importance of exceptional client service are just two of many reasons joining SS&G and BDO together makes sense. With increased bench strength and a broader array of services available for clients, the move makes a strong firm even stronger. “It’s been great to build relationships with clients over the years and to watch them

TIMELINE 1910 Maximilian (M.L.) Seidman opens a one-room office on New York City’s Park Row. With little more than a good idea, personal drive to achieve, and a commitment to hard work, Seidman founded Seidman & Seidman — known today as BDO.

1996 SS&G welcomes its 100th employee.

1999 SS&G Healthcare Services LLC is added to SS&G’s family of services.

2002 SS&G expands outside of Ohio. Over the next few years, the firm grows to include offices in Illinois and New York.

1968

become more successful right along with us,” says Littman. “Joining BDO allows us to expand while continuing to strengthen those relationships with more resources and better opportunities.” Goldfarb agrees that joining BDO is a great opportunity for clients and professionals to thrive. “Our greatest accomplishment as a firm has been helping so many employees and clients grow and prosper. After so many years in public accounting and almost 30 years of building SS&G and its affiliates, I would say joining BDO feels like a crowning achievement,” he says. There is no question that our core values and missions align. Building on the traditions and history of our firm, we are proud to be part of BDO’s growth and look forward to continuing to bring you the best of the people and service you know, with expanded resources to meet your needs. “I expect that our professionals will be instrumental to the success of BDO,” says Shamis. “People will continually say in a positive way, ‘They came from SS&G.’”

Page, Saltz & Shamis is formed through the merger of the accounting practices of Theodore Saltz and Marvin Shamis and the acquisition of the practice of Eugene and Walter Page, marking the beginning of what would become SS&G.

2007 SS&G Investment Services changes its name to SS&G Wealth Management to better reflect the products and services provided.

2012 The management consulting unit of The Parkland Group joins the business valuation and litigation consulting division of SS&G to form SS&G Parkland.

2015 1987 Page, Saltz & Shamis merges with the Akron practice of Mark Goldfarb to form Saltz, Shamis & Goldfarb Inc.

SS&G and SS&G Parkland join BDO USA to increase bench strength and better serve clients. SS&G Wealth, Healthcare & Paytime continue to operate as separate companies.

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focus on INFORMATION OVERLOAD The phrase ‘big data’ is sweeping the business world. But what does it really mean for you?

echnology has created a growing problem for businesses: What to do with the mountains of data available via just a few mouse clicks? This mass quantity of available information has given rise to the term “big data.” It’s an all-encompassing phrase meant to define the vast pool of data on market trends, customer spending habits, demographics, purchasing power, and just about any other vertical you can imagine. But how do you negotiate it to find, and utilize, the information that will benefit your business the most? It seems like a good problem to have, but it’s a question that’s getting more difficult to answer. “The sheer volume of data has exploded,” says Scot Lowry, president and CEO of marketing analytics firm Fathom. “I read that 90 percent of all data has been created in the past two and a half years.” Some companies have undertaken initiatives to sort all available data for future use. But that can be a monumental and costly task, especially if there is no real end goal that will drive future revenue for the business. When trying to get your hands, and mind, around the vast quantities of available information, Lowry says the first step has nothing to do with the data itself. Instead, the first step is to define what you want to accomplish with the data your company processes. “There are lots of companies with giant solutions, where they come in and organize all your data for you,” Lowry says. “It could take months or years, and millions of dollars, to capture and sort all the data that’s out there, and you might not really understand how you’re going to benefit from it.” The better approach is to define, in crystal-clear language, the data-related objectives of your business, and then pursue the data that will help reach those objectives. “Doing so will allow you to use a much more agile approach that will take smaller chunks of data for more rapid analysis,” Lowry says. “That’s what we’ve tried to do for our clients. We’ll grab data from a smaller number of sources and create simple, clear reports that can be compiled in the span of weeks or a month, and can produce clear actionable insights. That’s in contrast to a massive data roundup that covers all possible sources and takes a year and a half.” The key thing to remember is that you can always ramp up your search. If the initial, smaller-scale research delivers

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useful, actionable information, you can expand the search to include other data verticals. If you reach a dead end, it’s much easier to circle back to the beginning and start over. “Shoot bullets, not cannonballs,” Lowry says. “That’s a big saying we have around here. Aim for a specific target. Go one department at a time, and do a quick report on that. If that gives you the clues you’re looking for, you can add another department, and another after that. You build up gradually.” The concept of big data is new and exciting, Lowry says, but don’t get caught up in the hype at the expense of smart decision-making. “We’ve never been in a world before where we can have this type of data at our fingertips,” he says. “We can understand customers and trends like never before. But you can’t let the data tail wag the dog; otherwise, it could turn into millions of wasted dollars and hours upon hours of wasted time.” Reach Fathom at (866) 726-5968 or www.fathomdelivers.com

industry FOR THE LOVE OF DOGS Dinovite thrives by meeting the needs of pets with its line of nutritional supplements

d Lukacevic has always loved animals. As a child, he experimented with nutritional supplements for his pet birds and reptiles. And as an adult, after testing various feed formulations, he started a company that sold one of the first iguana diets on the market. Not originally wanting to stay in the supplement business, Lukacevic eventually sold that company and moved from feeding reptiles to breeding dogs on his farm in Kentucky — specifically, raising and selling Staffordshire bull terriers. “I didn’t want anything to do with formulating supplements,” says Lukacevic. “But I started seeing certain problems in the kennels. For example, when someone bought my puppies, the puppies might get bald spots. I would tell the people that the dog food was causing a deficiency, but they would just go to the veterinarian, who could just say I was a bad breeder. So I started mixing up a supplement that would correct these problems before they happened.” Mixing a few pints at a time, Lukacevic started blending vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients often cooked out of

“I’ve never done anything gimmicky — things that look cute or yummy but it’s horrible for a dog.” — Ed Lukacevic, owner, Dinovite

processed dog food. He gave the supplement to customers who purchased his puppies, and soon, the phone calls about bald spots ceased. But the benefits didn’t end there. One day Lukacevic’s wife noticed that, using the supplement, their dogs had stopped shedding. Lukacevic realized he was on to something and began formulating Dinovite, a nutritional supplement for dogs developed to improve coat health, diminish odors, alleviate allergies, strengthen immune systems, and aid digestion. Since incorporating Dinovite in 2001, Lukacevic has developed a full line of supplements and natural products for dogs, cats, and horses. Now with 40 employees, the Crittenden, Kentucky-based company continues to grow

and innovate. To create new products, Lukacevic must keenly understand the needs of his customers — both the four-legged ones and the humans who buy their food. “I’ll try a product out on so many animals and watch,” says Lukacevic, who gives the formulas to his own pets first. “There’s a long time of watching for improvements. You’re looking for a certain level of performance, so you try it out, see how they respond. You have to do it for months and months, so that’s the longest process.” After a product proves its value to pets, Lukacevic has to think about the owners — what type of packaging consumers respond to and what type of information they need to make the decision to purchase the product. He gathers this feedback from pet owners who sample new products, then makes modifications before hitting the market. Customers and their dogs love Dinovite’s flagship powder supplement, but Lukacevic continues to test new formulas and introduce new products — sometimes making changes along the way based on consumer response. When Lukacevic introduced a liquid version of his flagship supplement, he found that dogs loved the stinky paste, but many owners couldn’t stand the smell. By tweaking the formula to make it less odious for pet owners and by educating them about the products benefits, the product became more appealing to those owners. Balancing the nutritional needs of animals with their owners’ preferences can be the biggest challenge of developing products in this space. Dinovite strikes the balance by educating customers about pets’ nutritional needs while continuing to innovate. “It’s a dance, trying to find the balance,” says Lukacevic. “I’ve never done anything gimmicky — things that look cute or yummy but it’s horrible for a dog. I try to strike that balance.” Reach Dinovite at (859) 428-1000 or www.dinovite.com

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case study

Dale Wollschleger, Founder, ExactCare Pharmacy

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SIMPLIFYING a daily ROUTINE

Photos: Jesse Kramer

ExactCare Pharmacy is changing the way patients view pharmacies by delivering a new level of care

ust a few years after graduating with his pharmacy degree in 2000, Dale Wollschleger negotiated a deal to buy a small outpatient pharmacy located inside a hospital lobby — his first retail pharmacy. It was there that he recognized the opportunity for his business to become much more than just a traditional prescription-filling pharmacy. At the time, Wollschleger worked with a lot of mental health patients, many of whom suffered compound medical conditions that required multiple medications every day. It was difficult for these patients to manage their medication schedules, and for many of them, skipping a single pill or accidentally altering doses could derail the entire treatment plan. “I became concerned that the traditional retail pharmacy was not the best model for the more medically fragile patients we served,” Wollschleger says. “Many of my patients were challenged with multiple, chronic and sometimes complex diseases that required myriad medications and frequent dosing schedules. The standard pharmacy model of filling medications in bottles and handing them over the counter was not serving the clinical and lifestyle needs of these customers.” With a goal of improving the quality of life for patients juggling multiple prescriptions, Wollschleger founded ExactCare Pharmacy in 2009. The company developed an innovative dispensing system called ExactPack — a convenient blister pack that sorts multiple doses of various medications for easier medication management and adherence. Beyond actual medications, ExactCare took a clinical approach to patients’ health by working closely with their entire health care value chain, from prescribing physicians to home health agencies, insurance providers, and other caretakers. By focusing on patients’ needs to offer comprehensive wraparound services, ExactCare strives to provide seamless solutions. “As we simplify medication management for patients, we help drive better medication adherence, reduce complications and errors, and improve clinical and economic outcomes,” says Wollschleger, who serves as president and CEO.

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The company keeps growing to serve a broader base of multiprescription patients across the country, as Wollschleger invests in technology and talent to keep ExactCare on the leading edge of innovative pharmacy care. “One of my visions is to change the way people view pharmacies,” says Wollschleger, who followed his father into the industry. “Right now, people go to a pharmacy; they don’t have a pharmacy. You have your general practitioner, your cardiologist, your dentist, but you don’t really have a pharmacy — someone that’s managing all your medications, making sure there are no drug interactions. That’s really what we’ve developed.”

Filling a niche need Although ExactCare has a vision of changing the way patients perceive pharmacies, it’s focused on a very specific niche of polypharmacy patients. “This isn’t for everybody; it’s really for patients on more than five medications,” says Wollschleger. “There’s definitely still a place for traditional retail pharmacies if you just need to pick up an antibiotic or a pain medication.” By focusing specifically on the needs of patients managing multiple medications for complex conditions, ExactCare can customize innovative solutions. Early on, Wollschleger developed a “glorified automatic refill system” to help mental health patients stay on track with multiple prescriptions. He began filling multidose blister packs by hand with the proper doses of daily medications — but while the packaging was convenient for patients, it was labor intensive and expensive to fill manually. To improve, Wollschleger invested in technology that automated the process, allowing the company to customize the ExactPack with each patient’s daily prescriptions presorted in the right doses. The medication strips are separated according to when they’re taken, whether morning, noon and night, or up to nine times each day. The ExactPack ships directly to patients’ homes, freeing them (and their caregivers) from having to order refills, drive to the pharmacy and sort through bottles to organize pills. As a result, ExactCare’s system helps ensure accuracy and adherence, reducing dosage errors and drug interactions. “When you consider that half of all patients don’t take their medications as prescribed, and that improving medication adherence is estimated to have a potential savings of nearly $300 billion annually, our pharmacy model and the ExactPack are critical parts of the solution,” Wollschleger says, adding that half of the senior population takes more than five daily medications, 40 percent take more than nine and 20 percent take more than 10. 8

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Whether patients receive their medication in assisted living facilities or, increasingly, at home, the ExactPack streamlines the process by making medication management safer and easier for them and their caretakers. “We take the safety aspect and confusion out of it so caretakers can spend more time with their patients,” Wollschleger says. “That’s big for family members. If you’re taking care of your mother or father, and it takes you three hours every Sunday night to organize their medication and put it in little pill boxes, that’s a lot of time that you could be spending with your mother or father. We’re trying to help these patients in their homes just like they would be helped in a nursing home.” As home-based health care becomes more popular, Wollschleger sees increasing opportunities for ExactCare to fill a gap in the market. “As more medically complex patients are managed at home, the need for a patient-centric, clinically focused pharmacy model will continue to grow,” he says.

Stepping out from behind the counter Patients are at the center of every decision ExactCare Pharmacy makes. “I truly believe, and I tell everybody this, that if we keep thinking about the patients, everything else will fall into place,” Wollschleger says. “Yes, we have to look at financial metrics to make business decisions, but if we care about the patient and think of every patient as a family member, all that will fall into place — and has so far.” ExactCare’s patient-centered focus starts with an initial home visit. Community liaisons meet with new customers to collect the necessary medical information while building rapport. “We go through all their current medications and collect all their data right there with them, so they feel comfortable with us,” Wollschleger says. “We explain everything we’re going to do and how we’re going to make their lives easier.” That information comes back to ExactCare’s clinical staff to analyze and organize, as they verify information with the patient’s doctors, insurance providers and health agencies. But after examining various types of pharmaceutical software, Wollschleger couldn’t find a tool that would manage all of this data in the way he wanted it to, so he had to innovate. He hired developers to create proprietary software that could handle the workflow. “Our processes have changed to get better for patients, for caregivers, sometimes even for the insurance companies,” Wollschleger says. “We’re constantly updating our technology in house to help the patient a little bit more.”

“If you do the right thing for your customer, good things can happen. We are proof of that.” — Dale Wollschleger

The better ExactCare understands its patients’ needs, the better it can customize its solutions. That means listening to feedback — like when Wollschleger started hearing people were having trouble reaching someone when they called the company. It was important to Wollschleger that a live person answer each call, but making that happen became cumbersome as call volume increased at the growing company. To make sure he was efficiently meeting the needs of patients and employees alike, he re-examined ExactCare’s phone system from a customer service standpoint. “We did some testing on it and found out that patients actually like it better if they can just press 1, 2, 3 or 4 because it gets them to a human in that area quicker,” Wollschleger says. “Now, we still obviously have our employees pick up calls rapidly, but it makes it more organized for patients. It’s been a world of difference for customer service.”

Growing model of care Wollschleger originally started ExactCare in the back of an independent outpatient pharmacy. When the company started to take off, he moved into a 6,000-square-foot office in late 2010 with a handful of employees, wondering how they’d ever fill so much space. But he didn’t have to wonder long. As word of ExactCare’s unique offering spread beyond Ohio, the company quickly outgrew that office and, in July 2013, moved into a 27,000-square-foot building. About a year later, they added another 20,000 square feet. And now with about 300 employees and patients in 10 states, Wollschleger says they aren’t done growing. After another planned addition of 25,000 square feet, the company will be poised to serve patients in every state by the end of the first quarter of 2015. The biggest challenge of managing such rapid growth has been finding good employees to uphold ExactCare’s commitment to serving patients. “We have a phenomenal staff here, and we’re constantly trying to find more great employees,” Wollschleger says. “It’s difficult because we don’t want to just throw bodies at the problem. We are spending a lot of money on technology, but we’re also spending a lot of money trying to find and recruit good employees.”

Through these efforts to maximize talent internally, the company created ExactCare University as a multifaceted training program. In addition to onboarding new employees with the mission and values of the company, the university offers training programs for all levels, in all departments, from sales professionals to call center representatives, human resources associates and even leadership training for managers. “We’re really developing careers and career paths for our employees. We want people to grow within the company,” Wollschleger says Making sure that employees maintain ExactCare’s standard of care is key to keeping the company’s growth on track. After all, changing the way that patients think about pharmacies isn’t just about changing the big picture. Each employee must consistently deliver personalized, patient-centered service in order to change the overall patient experience. “I’ve learned that successful growth is about staying focused on what matters, consistently delivering on the promise and commitments we make to our customers,” Wollschleger says. “If you do the right thing for your customer, good things can happen. We are proof of that.” Reach ExactCare at (877) 355-7225 or www.exactcarepharmacy.com

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people first 5

tips for guiding your employees through change

Navigating the changing landscape of your business can be a challenge. But whether you are leading a start-up and getting ready for major expansion, or own an established company that is reorganizing, it is up to you as a leader to guide your employees through the transition successfully. “Change is inevitable and necessary to grow and keep your business competitive,” says Dr. Stacy Feiner, Psy.D., management consulting director at BDO. “Good leaders have an aptitude for handling the ambiguity that comes with change — and the confidence and composure to lead people through it.” Here are five tips from Feiner on how to maintain morale and keep your team focused on success during a period of change.

Champion change. Stay positive and upbeat about what is happening at your workplace. Your people will take note and likely follow suit. Let people know often and early on 2 Communicate. what to expect, why it’s happening and how it will affect them. Respond to any questions as soon as possible. You’ll gain credibility by anticipating concerns and getting out in front of them. an ear to the ground. Be open to the feedback 3 Keep your employees have during the transition. They may have the best ideas for new processes or procedures. Repurpose the feedback as a forum for continuous improvement. opportunity. Change can be slow and cause 4 Emphasize unnecessary fallout when it only seems to benefit the company. Change is sustainable when the activities in the project plan are linked to professional development. Keep the focus on the ambitions your people have for growth and advancement in their own career. understanding. With any kind of change, there is an 5 Be element of fear, often mislabeled as resistance. People’s routines are disrupted, new training is needed, and people need time to develop new habits. Your business’s productivity is hinged on helping your people adapt to their new responsibilities so no one gets lost in the change. “Change requires effort — it’s challenging, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing. People are built for change,” says Feiner. “When faced with a challenge, you can either give up, succumb to it or live up to your potential.”

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KNOWING WHAT MATTERS SS&G has been committed to ensuring our communities are a better place to live and work — something that won’t change now that we have joined BDO. Over the years, our professionals have donated hundreds of hours of work and volunteer time to charitable organizations. And through events such as the annual Memorial Golf Classic and firm-sponsored efforts, we’ve donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to nonprofits. We are proud that BDO shares this dedication to community involvement, and we look forward to continuing to make a positive difference.

THE COMBINED STRENGTH OF SS&G AND BDO

years

of serving clients in Ohio, Illinois and around the country as SS&G

375+ SS&G staff who are now part of BDO

380+ number of domestic publicly traded clients BDO serves 100 number of BDO clients that are internationally publicly traded entities with U.S. filing requirements 1,328 member firms in 152 countries are part of BDO International Limited.

BEST of the BEST Similar to SS&G, BDO has been ranked as a best employer, top firm, healthiest workplace and innovative leader in the accounting industry.

SS&G’s ranking on INSIDE Public Accounting’s list of the largest CPA firms in the nation

BDO is the fifth-largest global network of public accounting firms

more services, experience and expertise available to you same people at the same locations working to serve you with the same level of exceptional client service helping entrepreneurial clients remains a top priority

community – As BDO we will continue our commitment to giving back.

BDO core values: People First • Exceptional Every Day, Every Way Embrace Change • Empowerment Through Knowledge • Choose Accountability 9 SS&G offices + 49 BDO offices

Stay social 58 total BDO USA offices @BDO_USA – Twitter + 400 independent BDO bdo.usa – Facebook Alliance firm BDO USA, LLP – LinkedIn locations nationwide BDOUnitedStates – YouTube

bdousa@bdo.com Set your spam filters to allow email from this address so you don’t miss valuable news and information.

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32125 Solon Rd. Cleveland, OH 44139

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“Good move? I’d say it’s a great move.” People who know, know BDO.SM

SS&G has joined BDO The people you know at SS&G, one of the Midwest’s top accounting firms, have combined their dedicated professionals and staff with BDO. With both local knowledge and expanded resources, we look forward to delivering the same exceptional client service to entrepreneurial and growing businesses across the Midwest – and all over the world. Locations: Akron | Cincinnati | Cleveland | Columbus Accountants and Consultants www.bdo.com © 2015 BDO USA, LLP. All rights reserved.