2023 AICPA & CIMA Dealership Conference

Every year dealerships perform parts physical inventories and attempt to reconcile the parts pad to accounting. While the physical is pretty straight forward, most dealerships run into difficulties when trying to reconcile the parts pad to the general ledger. If everything throughout the year flows properly between parts and accounting, the variance to accounting should be zero but that never happens. In many cases dealerships can be off by $20,000 or more in either direction with no explanation.

The FTC compliance deadline has come and gone and Dealers are still lacking comprehensive security programs. Compliance with the FTC Safeguard Rule isn’t just checking boxes. A security program requires businesses to adapt their cybersecurity practices to changing business environments, the evolving tactics of the cybercriminal, and technological advances. This ongoing effort is critical to defend against relentless cybercriminals and protect business continuity.

In this presentation, Erik Nachbahr will discuss the practical measures dealerships can take to develop and maintain an Adaptive IT and Cybersecurity program.

Economic Outlook: Inflation, Recession, and Frustration. Examine the economic outlook, both nationally and regionally, and its risks.

Join us for an exclusive session featuring Daryl Kenningham, CEO of Group 1, and Alan Haig, President of Haig Partners, as they discuss how Group 1 is driving their organization forward in auto retail. Attend this session to hear about the future of auto retail, dealership acquisition strategies, technological innovations, and talent acquisition and retention within Group 1.

Key Takeaways:

• Outlook for Auto Retail: Gain insights into the ever-evolving landscape of auto retail. Discover how industry trends, consumer behavior, and market dynamics are shaping the future of the automotive sector.
• Dealership Acquisition Strategy: Learn from their extensive experience in dealership acquisitions and strategies and considerations that have driven Group 1's success in expanding its dealership portfolio.
• Technology's Role in the Future: Explore how Group 1 plans to harness technology to stay ahead of the curve. Discover innovative approaches to enhancing the customer experience, streamlining operations, and embracing digital transformation.
• Attracting and Retaining Talent: Hear firsthand how Group 1 attracts and retains the industry's best talent. Understand the strategies and culture that make Group 1 a top destination for automotive professionals.

Don't miss this opportunity to engage with two influential figures in the automotive world. Join us for a thought-provoking discussion that promises to inspire and inform, providing you with the knowledge and strategies needed to thrive in the competitive auto retail landscape.

Solutios is a high-growth provider of seamless digital payment, banking, treasury management and analytical solutions enabling franchise automotive dealers to leverage the latest finance, banking and telematics technologies. Our session will highlight our latest POS/DMS application; digital reimbursement card product to eliminate check writing for tag, title & deal reimbursement; fleet management to automate collection of unpaid loaner car customer expenses such as tolls, fines, fuel, and excess mileage; and our novel integrated payables workflow to reduce accounting overhead and increase the dealers digital payment rebate (up to 80 bps). Created by dealers for dealers, our secure and scalable cloud-based commerce software-as-a-service platform tightly integrates modern point-of-sale functionality with legacy dealer management systems.

With zero capital required, Solutios helps dealers drive savings directly to the bottom line by:

1) Significantly reducing credit card processing fees via transaction aggregation and interchange optimization with full pricing transparency

2) Creating operational efficiencies through collections, disbursements, deposit execution, posting and reconciliation without changing existing processes

3) Modernizing the payments experience at all touchpoints to enhance customer experience and increase retention

4) Automating PCI-DSS and other regulatory compliance requirements

Incubated and launched by Pohanka Automotive, one of the nation’s oldest and most respected automobile dealership groups, Solutios is a strategic banking-as-a-service partner of Fidelity National Information Services Inc., Cogent Bank and a registered payments facilitator of Worldpay Inc. The company is privately held and headquartered in Northern Virginia’s Dulles Technology Corridor. To learn more about leveraging the power of Solutios and its dealer alliance partnership, please attend our technology demonstration at AICPA this year and swing by our booth.

This session will cover various issues faced by automotive CFO's today. A panel made up of three CFO’s, all with differing backgrounds and perspectives on the industry, will be asked questions by a moderator in Q&A format. Questions from the audience will be encouraged.

Hear from the CEO of Chase Auto about trends in retail and commercial lending, the impacts digitization and electrification are having on the automotive industry and a perspective on the health of the consumer.

Streamline your entire payroll process with an end-to-end solution that’s embedded into the DMS.

After nearly four incredible back-to-back years of buy/sell activity and record-setting valuations, the big question is how much longer can this robust transaction marketplace last? Buy/sell expert Erin Kerrigan will share an overview of the 2023 buy/sell market and Kerrigan Advisors’ projections for blue sky values in 2024. The presentation will also cover highlights and key trends from The Blue Sky Report®, The Kerrigan Index™, The Kerrigan Dealer Survey and The Kerrigan OEM Survey.

Discussing the current tax landscape for auto dealers and potential planning opportunities.

In this session, we'll overview several key tax issues impacting the dealer industry for upcoming tax filings and reminders on key tax issues, including changes to Sec. 163(j) interest limitation calculations, the Employee Retention Credit, EV Credits, 8300 update.

These days, everyone is looking to improve cash flow. Many dealers have successfully increased revenue by decreasing their real estate tax burden. This session will explore a variety of tax savings strategies that fully leverage current legislation – cost segregation, bonus depreciation, Section 179 expensing, and more. A case-based learning approach will be utilized to demonstrate the potential scope of savings and the importance of strategic timing.

PLUS – A brief discussion of how dealers can take advantage of the R&D Tax Credit.

Advance your reinsurance education by joining experts Alan Pouyat and Rob Walker as they share an actual cession report and highlight vital areas that should be reviewed quarterly, including:

• Average premium per contract.

• 5-year profit projection.

• Loss analysis by VSC term and type (and by store for multiple rooftops).

• Trends analysis by product for production and losses.

• Banking statements to clarify dealer assets.

An update to the 2021 presentation with discussions on:

• Global EV industry statistics and the United States’ contribution

• An update to the U.S. EV industry statistics, including market share, market cap and car parc

• Winners, Losers and Mergers in the EV World

• Case Study on Tesla and what it could mean for the newer entrants

Learn how Corporate Venture Capital groups are leading innovation in the greater mobility space