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Bentson Clark & Copple’s Resident Survey

We spend a lot of time and effort working with today’s orthodontic residents. We visit their residency programs, attend events solely catered towards the resident community and participate in resident-only webinars and presentation opportunities. We spend numerous hours speaking with them as they search for an orthodontic practice to purchase and/or employment opportunities. We are focused on actively working with and providing as much information as possible to them to help them make educated decisions about their future. This group of young professionals will ultimately shape the future of the orthodontic industry.

As part of our commitment to providing relevant, accurate and useful data to the orthodontic community, each year Bentson Clark & Copple conducts a nationwide survey of all current orthodontic residents for the purpose of collecting, compiling and analyzing information regarding today’s orthodontic resident population.

As in our previous surveys, we ask a variety of questions regarding residents’ anticipated plans after completing their residency program. The survey also inquires about income expectations, geographic locations, total educational debt, and preference of whether they would seek an employment relationship or equity opportunity upon graduation.

We have published a brief sampling of the 2012 Annual Orthodontic Resident Survey’s results in the 4th Quarter edition of the Bentson Clark reSource. We have, in addition, compiled the full results of this year’s survey in booklet form featuring our commentary and a comparison of this year’s data to that of the previous two years. This publication will be available for purchased within the next few weeks. Please check our website and blog for additional information and purchase information.

Who Should Perform Your Practice Appraisal?

At some point in the life of your orthodontic career, there will most likely come a time to have your practice valued. This process usually occurs only once for most practitioners, but more in some cases. The reasons for having an orthodontic practice valued vary, but by far the most likely reason is the contemplation of a change in ownership. If you plan to retire and sell your practice, a practice valuation is highly suggested as one of the first steps in the process. When the time arises, do you know who should perform your orthodontic practice appraisal?

The AAO provides its members with a list of companies or individuals that offer valuation/evaluation services to the orthodontic community. If the purpose of the valuation is for an ownership change, it is strongly suggested you select a firm that specializes in orthodontic valuation and transition services rather than using your local CPA or accounting firm. Bentson Clark & Copple, LLC, provides valuation services and appears on the AAO’s listing, as do several other well-respected companies.

Most Certified Public Accountants who have been involved in the sale of various businesses can likewise prepare some type of valuation report for your practice. For reliability purposes, the report should follow accepted valuation methodology. It should be completed and signed by someone who holds nationally recognized valuation credentials (such as CVA, AVA, ASA, etc.).

We Are Thankful

We are reminded during the Thanksgiving season to be thankful and cherish the family and friends that are such a significant part of our lives. While we at Bentson Clark & Copple enjoy the Thanksgiving food and traditions that go with the holidays, we are very thankful for our families, clients, and co-workers.We would like to take a few moments to reflect back on these three groups.

1. We are thankful for our families. As in most endeavors, we spend a great deal of time at work and away from our families. Whether we are in the office, away with clients or attending meetings, our families at home are always on our minds. Each of us is so thankful for those that we live with and care for. Their love and support allows us to focus on our work. We are grateful for their health and safety throughout this year.

2. We are thankful for the opportunity to work with such great doctors. We are blessed to become part of the lives of doctors during the pivotal points within their orthodontic careers. We are able to work with orthodontic residents as they begin their practice journey and once again when doctors are ready to transition into a new chapter of their practice life. Those plans can be retirement, reducing the number of work days or bringing in a partner/associate to help manage the practice’s workload. These doctors become more like family members than clients during the months (or even years) that we work with them. We enjoy the opportunity to help them reach their goals, make their career dreams a reality, and educate them with the valuation or transition information needed to make educated decisions regarding these big choices.

3. We are thankful for the Bentson Clark & Copple team. We would not be able to function without each team member. Each individual brings different expertise, talents, and gifts to the business. This allows us to operate as a team, to grow and to focus solely on our clients and their individual needs. Each team member is dedicated to providing the best service for each and every client. We work hard, but we do our best to make our work fun.

Have a great Thanksgiving!

What is An Orthodontic Practice Valuation?

Bentson Clark & Copple specializes in orthodontic valuations and transitions, but what does this really mean and involve? We are in the business of helping orthodontists during the pivotal points within their careers. We perform practice valuations, provide partner location services, offer practice sales and marketing services and help negotiate practice transactions.

Let’s focus on practice valuation. You are more than likely aware of the concept of business valuation, but may question how orthodontic practice valuations work. When an orthodontist is ready to find out what their practice is worth, they come to us. We then provide them with an information request document. This multiple page form requests the doctor’s personal information, and general information about the practice, including, the staff, hours of operation, leasing arrangements, number of locations and referral sources, among other items. After this information is collected, we then accumulate statistical and operational information. We inquire about the practice’s fees, the number of start cases and case completions, contracts receivable balance, number of active and recall patients and information on all active patients with paid in full balances.

Besides the on-site practice visit, perhaps the most important part of the valuation is collecting the practices’ financial information. We ask doctors to provide the past three years’ profit and loss statements and the most current interim profit and loss statement. We also obtain the most recent tax year-end and month-end balance sheets and a fixed assets listing. Lastly, doctors need to submit tax returns for the past three years including any other supporting statements. (Generally, we find that practices that employ practice consultants have a good grasp on key operational metrics and systems compared to practices that do not use practice consultants.)

We take all this information and determine a fair market value of a practice through a valuation report. The report briefly explains the various general valuation approaches and the valuation approach used by Bentson Clark & Copple. Through a variety of charts, graphs and statements, we explain how the value is calculated. The report includes a practitioner biography, the practice history, state and local demographics and an industry profile.

For more information regarding orthodontic practice valuations, please contact our office.

Bentson Clark & Copple Announces Upcoming Speaking Schedule

The Bentson Clark & Copple team have a busy upcoming fall schedule. We always enjoy the opportunity to speak at orthodontic society meetings, study clubs, orthodontic schools, and resident functions. This fall we have been provided numerous opportunities to do so! Chris Bentson will be crisscrossing the country presenting to the orthodontic community.

Some of Chris’ presentation will be solely directed towards the orthodontic resident community, while others are targeted toward the general orthodontic doctor population. He will be speaking on a number of topics including, but not limited to: locating a practice opportunity, today’s orthodontic marketplace, orthodontic trends, practice transition (from both buyers’ and sellers’ perspectives), practice valuation, and the future of the orthodontic industry.

Below is a list of Bentson Clark & Copple’s upcoming speaking and exhibiting schedule.

September 20-23, 2012
Middle Atlantic Society of Orthodontists (MASO) Annual Session
Baltimore Hilton
Baltimore, MD
Booth # 405
Doctor Lecture: Benchmarking the Orthodontic Practice
Resident Lecture: The Process of Locating a Practice to Build, Join, Partner or Purchase

September 27-29, 2012
Southern Association of Orthodontists (SAO) 2012 Annual Meeting
Grove Park Inn
Ashville, NC
Booth # 605
Doctor Lecture: Today’s Orthodontic Practice & Marketplace
Resident Lecture: How to Locate a Practice Opportunity

October 9, 2012
AAO Sponsored Resident Webinar
Resident Webinar: Path to Ownership, Partnership or Associateship

October 11-13, 2012
OrthoVoice 2012
Bally’s Hotel
Las Vegas, NV
Booth # 311
Practice Transition Panel Discussion

October 18-20, 2012
OrthoSynetics’ 2012 Practice Meeting
Loews Ventana Canyon
Tucson, AZ
Doctor Lecture: Today’s Orthodontic Marketplace and How It Will Shape Tomorrow

October 25, 2012
TP Orthodontics Resident Presentation
TP Orthodontics Headquarters
La Porte, IN
Resident Presentation: The Resident Pathway to Future Practice Ownership

Be sure to attend one of Chris Bentson’s lectures, visit our booth (if we are exhibiting at that particular meeting) and pick up of the most recent copy of the Bentson Clark reSource!

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