Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most common questions asked
of my clients. If you don’t see the answer to your question
below, please contact me for a quick and detailed response.

Our bankers are well trained already:
why would our private bankers need your courses?

What key themes do you stress in your courses?

We have a cash flow model and personal financial
statement we have tailored specifically to our wealthy customers. Won’t your course just confuse our
bankers and analysts?

Your materials seem to be heavily focused on
cash flow analysis. Why is that?

Where should I start?

Why do you rely on tax returns as sources
of financial information?

What do your seminars cost?

What savings are available?

Who will deliver the course?

Should I take your Tax Return Analysis:
Cash Flow & Beyond course as a live seminar,
or via e.learning?

Where do you hold your classes?

We require all of our training in private banking
to be part of our in-house curriculum. How would
BankSems work in that situation? How many
participants can enroll in one of your seminars
at one time?

How much lead time is suggested for
scheduling sessions?

Will your courses help me advise my
customers on tax matters?

I’m intrigued, but I need more information
before we invest in one of your seminars.

Our bankers are well trained already:
why would our private bankers need your courses?
Wealthy customers are “hybrids” between the commercial
and the consumer/retail lending worlds. While they are
individual customers, the magnitude and complexity of
their assets, and their experience in the business world,
means that both the banker/customer relationship and
analysis of their financial position need additional
experience and expertise.

And frankly, it is more and more common for private
bankers to have very little experience with these types
of customers when they start working with them. They
do not always understand the affluent business owner’s
tax concerns, their flexibility in manipulating income and
expenses, their ability to distribute assets in creative ways,
and their expectations (and lack of patience) born from years
of being in charge. (See Challenge: Banking the Wealthy)

Private bankers must understand how wealthy customers
think, if they are to have a chance at building a profitable
relationship with them. And they must learn to unravel
some of the common maneuvers affluent individuals
(and their accountants) use to optimize their tax positions.
Those are the things I teach.

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What key themes do you stress in your courses?
The banker or analyst who takes one of my
courses can expect:

A focus on affluent individuals, business owners,
entrepreneurs, professionals, and so on.

Demystification of tax and estate planning
manipulations that make it hard to quickly
assess the true financial status
of these wealthy customers.

Practical information aimed at efficient credit
analysis, rather than a dump of detailed legal
and technical information. I’ll tell you what you
need to do, what you need to know, and what
you need to find out from your borrower.

Emphasis on cash flow analysis, because cash
is the only thing that is going to repay the loan.

Adaptability of the analysis to suit individual
situations. Some transactions need a close
look, some need a “No Questions Asked”
initial qualification without bothering the
customer, and I make sure you can easily
perform either level of analysis.

Special attention on sustainable, reliable
cash flow - the borrower’s cash resources
after eliminating one-time inflows, or other
sources that may not be available when
repayment is due.

Enthusiasm, clarity, and responsiveness,
whatever your need or your question.

If you’ve opted for customization of the
content, case studies, forms, and terminology
that reflect your bank’s approach and market.

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We have a cash flow model and personal financial
statement we have tailored specifically to our wealthy
customers. Won’t your course just confuse our bankers
and analysts?
You will want me to present a customized version
of my course material for greater impact and clarity.

I frequently adapt my material to use the specific
terminology, forms, procedures, and models of the
client. I can also provide case studies and post-seminar
testing that is customized to meet your needs.

Naturally, I do charge a one-time customization fee to
cover the work involved. Amortized over several offerings
of the course, however, this one-time customization fee is
very affordable, and produces an excellent return on your
investment. You will understand that I cannot quote a
standard price for customization because the amount of
work required is determined by the specific content of your
forms and models. But you can get some examples of
typical fees encountered by previous clients from my
Typical Training Packages page. Please see the
For Greater Impact section of this site for more
information about customization options and costs.

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Your materials seem to be heavily focused on
cash flow analysis. Why is that?
Cash, and only cash, repays debt. As a lender, you need
to know if the borrower will have the cash to repay the loan
at the appropriate time, and that means making predictions
about what portions of the customer’s cash resources are
sustainable, and which ones are just temporary, one-time
boosts to their financial picture.

Cash flow information does not easily fall out of tax returns
(individual or business) and personal financial statements
from wealthy individuals because they deliberately
(and legitimately) manage their finances with an aim to
minimizing tax liabilities, or optimizing estate arrangements.
My courses and analytical tools enable you to quickly unravel
those manipulations to reveal the customer’s true financial
picture, to monitor trends in cash flows, and to predict
sustainable cash flows.

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Where should I start?
You’ll get a good foundation by taking Tax Return Analysis:
Cash Flow & Beyond. Available as a live seminar or an
online course, this class teaches you how tax planning
affects cash flows at the individual level.

Analysis of affluent individuals, often business owners
or professionals, is typically required not only for the borrower,
but for loan guarantors as well. In a closely held business or
professional practice, tax planning considerations influence
both business and personal financial data and reporting,
obscuring the true opportunity and risk associated with
the wealthy customer.

Visit the Training Solutions page for more information
about the various seminars I offer.

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Why do you rely on tax returns as sources of
financial information?
Unlike the large corporate borrower, many business owners
and affluent professionals do not provide standard financial
statements. And even if they do have financial statements
for their business, they may have significant investments,
or participate in more than one business. Finally, most
small-business-prepared financial statements are simply
compilations at best, offering low quality information. In
these situations, the information they provide to the federal
government on their tax returns is the most reliable information
about their finances. Unfortunately for most lenders, affluent
individuals also employ accountants and attorneys to help them
manipulate their tax liabilities. Those manipulations can make
it easy to underestimate their resources, or to rely on sources
of cash that aren’t necessarily going to be available in future
years.My teaching materials reveal the reliable cash flow
behind these tax returns, the sources of cash you can
reasonably expect to be sustained over the lifespan of
your transaction with the customer.

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What do your seminars cost?
Two different kinds of services I offer are priced differently:

Seminar delivery is charged on a per-participant basis,
with a minimum charge for any live seminar based on 20 participants. My travel expenses will be charged separately.

Content customization, modifying my Ready To Go
seminar material to use your models, forms, procedures,
and terminology, will incur a one-time customization fee.
Once the customization is completed, I will deliver that
customized version as long as you like with no additional customization fees, just the usual per-participant charge.

Live seminar delivery is based on a fee of $595 per participant, with
the minimum seminar charge being the equivalent of 20 participants.

Where e.learning is available (Tax Return Analysis: Cash Flow
& Beyond), the per-participant charge is $750. There is no
minimum enrollment, and there are, of course, no travel expenses.

Customization fees must be negotiated on a case by case
basis, but you can get some examples of typical fees encountered
by previous clients from my Typical Training Packages page. The
exact content of your forms and models, and the degree of
integration of your own terminology into my course material, the work
required on my end can vary considerably.

Customization fees are only paid once, however, so many
subsequent seminars can be delivered with your custom
material without incurring any additional customization fees.

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What savings are available?
Bundling customizations and advance booking a series of
seminars make it possible for me to offer discounts. The
exact amount of the discount depends on the individual case,
how many participants, how many seminars, what types of
customization, and so on.But, for example, suppose you ask
me to customize my material to fit your Personal Financial
Statement, for which I charge a fee. Later, you decide that
worked well and you would like me to incorporate some
additional procedures and terminology, as well as a custom
post-seminar quiz, into the class.In that case, you would
end up paying more than you would if I could do both
customizations at the same time.Similarly, you might
book two offerings of a seminar, and then decide to offer
it three more times later in the year. Booking all five seminars
at one time would make it possible to offer a discount.These
discounts must be offered on-a case-by-case basis, because
there are so many variables. Please contact me to explore
ways to help you save while getting the training your bank needs.

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Who will deliver the course?
I will. I personally deliver all of my seminars, as well as
developing all of the content of my e-course and analysis
tools. It’s the only way I can be sure that you get the full
benefit of my experience, delivered with enthusiasm!

Even if you take the e.learning option Tax Return Analysis:
Cash Flow & Beyond, I am available to answer questions
that may come up during the course.

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Should I take your Tax Return Analysis: Cash Flow & Beyond
course as a live seminar, or via e.learning?
This depends on several factors, including your number of
participants, the urgency of your training need, your
customization preferences, and budget.

To help you determine which delivery method is best for
you, review the e.learning vs. Live page, where you’ll find
a discussion of key decision factors that have helped other
clients find the best answer to this question.

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Where do you hold your classes?
Generally, I come to you, either physically or virtually.

My live seminars are typically held on your premises, or in
a nearby location that you use for conferences and training
activities. In fact, I often deliver my material as an integrated
unit in a broader curriculum created by the bank, rather than
as a stand-alone seminar.

Now e.learning brings my foundation course,Tax Return
Analysis: Cash Flow & Beyond to your desktop! As long
as you have a computer and a web browser, you can complete
this core course without ever leaving the office.

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We require all of our training in private banking to be
part of our in-house curriculum. How would BankSems
work in that situation?
This is a common situation, and I often appear as one of the
bank’s presenters, scheduled into an ongoing curriculum. My
goal is to produce the best possible learning environment
for your private bankers and credit analysts. That could mean
working my course material into your broader curriculum,
delivering a stand-alone seminar, or supporting an e.learning
course with pre-work, follow-up discussions, or other
consultations with participants.

You may also want me to customize my material
(for a one-time fee) to reflect your own procedures
and terminology, for greater impact in the classroom.

I will work the way you work to achieve the results you need.


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How many participants can enroll in one of your
seminars at one time?
I try to keep the enrollment between 20 and 35 participants.
This allows the best combination of cost-effectiveness and
training interaction, I have found.

If you want me to deliver one of my seminars to less than
20 students, I will charge a fee based on 20 participants.
That’s my minimum seminar fee.

I am always willing to work with a client to meet special
needs, but these limits have served both me and my
clients well in the past.

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How much lead-time is suggested for scheduling sessions?
Good question. For seminars that I present in person,
I suggest at least 90 days. Available dates are more
difficult to come by in March, April, and May, September,
October, November. I do my best to accommodate
long-standing clients, some of whom will schedule more
than a year in advance.Of course, e.learning is available
at any time.

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Will your courses help me advise my customers
on tax matters?
NO. You will gain a much better understanding of your clients’
tax issues and how they affect both their financial reporting
and their cash flow. While that understanding will lead to
more fruitful conversations with your customers, and a
better evaluation of their creditworthiness, these courses
are not intended to turn you into a tax advisor. Further, I
suspect the bank does not want you to give tax advice.

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I’m intrigued, but I need more information before we
invest in one of your seminars…

phone or e-mail and I’ll be happy to give you all the details
you need to know what’s covered in my courses, how I
approach my topics, and how my courses can be adapted
to meet your particular needs.In addition, I can arrange for
a hands-on trial of some of my offerings, such as: A demo
of the e.learning version of my course, Tax Return Analysis:
Cash Flow & Beyond. This is a short tour of the main sections
of the actual online course. A trial version of my CFC Software,
so you can try it out with real data from your own customers.

Let’s chat! Don’t worry, I won’t give you a heavy sales pitch.
After all, I don’t get much out of teaching seminars to people
who really need something else.

So let’s talk, get all your questions answered, and make sure
we share the same objectives and expectations for training your
private bankers and credit analysts.

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