Small Business Issues in Today's Market
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In today’s complex and fast-evolving market, accounting professionals must be equipped to address the unique needs and challenges facing small businesses. This comprehensive webinar provides essential tools and strategies to help accountants enhance the value they deliver to their small business clients. Participants will explore key small business concepts, including legal structures, critical business law considerations, credit options through both traditional banks and alternative lenders, and how to navigate the shifting risk landscape that includes both management and economic variables.
Additionally, the session will offer practical guidance on how to effectively market accounting services to current and prospective small business clients. Emphasis will also be placed on understanding and supporting the personal financial needs of small business owners—an often overlooked but crucial element of client service. Real-life case scenarios will be used throughout the webinar to illustrate these concepts, providing attendees with actionable insights they can apply immediately to improve their client engagements.
Topics Covered:- Enhancing effectiveness with small business clients
- Legal considerations in small business operations
- SBA and conventional lending, plus alternative financing options
- Identifying and managing business and economic risks
- Targeted marketing strategies for accounting services
- Addressing the personal financial needs of small business owners
- Application of concepts through small business case studies
- Learn how to improve the effectiveness of your services for small business clients in today’s competitive market
- Gain a deeper understanding of legal, credit, and risk issues impacting small businesses
- Discover proven strategies to market your accounting services directly to small business owners
- Understand the unique personal financial needs of small business owners and how to address them
- Review real-life case studies to apply concepts in practical, relatable ways
This webinar is a valuable opportunity to strengthen your role as a trusted advisor for small business clients by sharpening your legal, financial, and marketing acumen.
Who Would Benefit From This Webinar:
CFOs, Controllers, Staff Accountants, CPAs, and financial professionals who serve or seek to serve small business clients across various industries.
Format: Live webcast
Instructional Method: Group: Internet-based
NASBA Field of Study: Accounting (2 hours)
Program Prerequisites: None
Advance Preparation: None
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David L. Osburn, MBA
David is the founder and managing member of David L. Osburn & Associates LLC, a Las Vegas-based business training and contract CFO firm that provides seminar/keynote speeches for various groups including CPAs, bankers, attorneys, credit union employees, credit managers, trade groups, and busines [...]
CPE Credit
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For more information regarding administrative policies such as complaint and refund, and cancellation please contact our offices at 407-542-4317 or [email protected].
ATATX Credit
Aurora Training Advantage is offering continuing education points designed to recognize dedication to training and excellence in accounting.
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This webinar received a total of 1 survey responses. Attendees have given an average rating of 4.6 stars out of a possible 5, reflecting the quality and value of the content presented.
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February 12, 2026
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Frequently Asked Questions
Understanding the legal structure options available to small business clients is one of the most foundational advisory services an accountant can provide, because the choice of entity affects taxation, liability exposure, ownership flexibility, and the complexity of compliance obligations. The primary structures include sole proprietorships — simple to form but offering no liability protection and subjecting all income to self-employment tax. Partnerships and LLCs offer pass-through taxation with shared ownership and operational flexibility; single-member LLCs are taxed as sole proprietorships by default. S corporations offer pass-through taxation with the potential to reduce self-employment taxes through a combination of reasonable compensation and distributions, but come with eligibility restrictions and added compliance. C corporations provide the strongest liability protection and are preferred by investors and businesses seeking to retain earnings, but are subject to double taxation unless structured carefully. Each structure has different implications for state registration requirements, annual reporting, operating agreement needs, and exit planning options. Accountants who help clients choose the right structure at formation — and who revisit that choice as the business grows — add significant long-term value by preventing costly restructurings and aligning the legal form with the owner's financial, tax, and succession goals.
Small businesses today have access to a significantly broader range of financing options than the traditional bank loan, and accountants who understand this landscape can add substantial value by matching clients to the right capital source for their specific situation. SBA-guaranteed loans — particularly the 7(a) and 504 programs — remain among the most attractive options for eligible small businesses because they offer longer terms, lower down payments, and more flexible underwriting than conventional commercial loans. Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) serve businesses that may not qualify for traditional bank financing due to limited credit history or operating in underserved communities. Online alternative lenders offer faster access to capital with less rigorous underwriting than banks, though typically at higher rates — appropriate for short-term needs or businesses that cannot qualify elsewhere. Invoice financing and factoring convert receivables to immediate cash for businesses with reliable customers but slow payment cycles. Equipment financing allows businesses to acquire productive assets without depleting working capital. Revenue-based financing provides capital repaid as a percentage of monthly revenue — useful for seasonal businesses or those with variable cash flows. Understanding the cost of each option — in terms of total interest, fees, and operational covenants — is essential to helping clients make informed financing decisions.
Risk identification and management is an increasingly important component of the advisory services accountants provide to small business clients, particularly as economic, regulatory, and operational risks have grown more complex and less predictable. Accountants can help clients identify key risk categories through structured assessment conversations: operational risks such as customer concentration (over-reliance on one or two customers for most revenue), supplier dependency, and key person vulnerability; financial risks including excessive leverage, interest rate exposure, and working capital inadequacy; legal and compliance risks related to contracts, employment law, intellectual property, and regulatory obligations; and economic risks such as industry disruption, competitive dynamics, and macroeconomic sensitivity. Once risks are identified, the accountant can help prioritize them by likelihood and potential financial impact, and develop mitigation strategies — diversifying the customer base, securing key man life insurance, establishing a revolving line of credit as a cash flow buffer, or implementing basic internal controls. For small businesses without a dedicated CFO, the external accountant is often the only professional in a position to provide this kind of forward-looking risk perspective, making it a highly valued and differentiating advisory service.
Marketing accounting services to small business owners requires understanding that small business owners typically select accountants based on trust, referrals, and perceived expertise in their specific industry or situation — not primarily on price. The most effective marketing strategies leverage these dynamics rather than competing on commoditized service offerings. Specialization in specific industries or business types — for example, positioning as the go-to accountant for construction companies, medical practices, or restaurant owners — creates a differentiated value proposition and generates referrals within tight-knit industry communities. Referral partnerships with business attorneys, bankers, commercial real estate agents, and insurance brokers are among the highest-ROI marketing channels because they deliver pre-qualified introductions from trusted professionals. Thought leadership — through local speaking engagements, articles in trade publications, educational webinars, or targeted social media content — builds credibility and visibility among target audiences. Offering free or low-cost initial consultations or small business workshops positions the firm as an advisor rather than just a service provider, building relationships that convert to long-term engagements. Existing client relationships are also an underutilized marketing asset: proactively reaching out to current clients with value-added insights — changes in tax law, financing opportunities, or risk management observations — generates referrals and deepens retention.
Small business owners often blur the line between personal and business finances in ways that create significant financial planning gaps and risk exposures that accountants are uniquely positioned to identify and address. Retirement planning is frequently neglected because the business itself is treated as the primary retirement asset — a concentration risk that can be devastating if the business cannot be sold at the anticipated value. Accountants should proactively discuss tax-advantaged retirement plan options such as SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, Solo 401(k)s, or defined benefit plans that allow substantial pre-tax contributions. Personal income tax planning for pass-through entity owners — including estimated tax payments, self-employment tax optimization, and qualified business income deduction planning — is an area where owner-specific guidance adds immediate financial value. Estate planning integration is important for business owners: business succession planning, buy-sell agreement funding, and the interaction between the business and the owner's personal estate should be reviewed with the owner and their estate planning attorney. Adequate personal insurance coverage — life insurance, disability income insurance, and liability coverage — is often underfunded or overlooked by owners focused on the business. Accountants who proactively address these personal financial dimensions of the owner relationship become genuinely trusted advisors rather than just compliance service providers.