The Near Miss Your Board Report Never Sees

Every client interaction lives somewhere on a sliding scale. On one end, it’s simple: a question answered, a form processed, a call resolved in five minutes. On the other end, it’s messy — an aggrieved client, a regulator’s phone call, a lawsuit. Most of what crosses an advisor’s desk sits comfortably in the middle, and …

Trust and Goodwill on the Balance Sheet

We often think of the balance sheet as a precise, quantitative snapshot of a company’s financial position. Cash, receivables, liabilities—clear, measurable, and defined. But one line item has always stood apart: goodwill. Traditionally, goodwill is described as an intangible asset—something that arises during an acquisition when the purchase price exceeds the fair value of identifiable …

You Manage a Process. You Lead People.

In some was, in a complicated world, sometimes it’s good to get back to basics. Somewhere along the way, a lot of us in compliance and risk started using the word “manager” for everything. We manage risk. We manage compliance. We manage the file, the audit, the relationship. And because the word gets used so …