BLACKMAN & SLOOP — AUTO DEALERSHIPS
Blackman & Sloop provides audit, tax, and advisory services to auto dealerships. We combine the personalized attention of a local firm with the resources and technical capabilities of a larger organization to help dealerships address complex financial, operational, and tax needs.
Our approach draws on more than 50 years of business experience and more than 25 years of dealership experience helping clients strengthen financial reporting, improve internal processes, manage risk, plan proactively, and make more informed decisions. We bring that experience to our work with dealership owners, dealer principals, CFOs, controllers, and management teams seeking greater visibility into the factors affecting performance.
OUR FIRM–WIDE EXPERTISE INFORMING OUR APPROACH TO AUTO DEALERSHIPS
For more than 50 years, Blackman & Sloop has helped businesses navigate complex financial, operational, and tax matters through practical guidance and responsive service.
Our approach to serving auto dealerships is informed by the firm’s broader capabilities in audit and assurance, tax planning and compliance, internal controls, financial reporting, risk management, operational analysis, and strategic advisory services. By bringing these disciplines together, we can evaluate more than the financial statements alone and consider the processes, controls, and decisions influencing dealership performance.
Aging repair orders, delayed funding, parts discrepancies, inventory inefficiencies, control gaps, and reactive tax planning can all affect cash flow and profitability before their impact becomes clearly visible in the financial statements. By connecting financial reporting with the activity behind it, we help dealership leaders identify concerns earlier, strengthen accountability, and make more informed decisions across the organization.
Our AUTO DEALERSHIP services include:
Audit and assurance services
- Financial statement audits and reviews
- Agreed-upon procedures
Tax preparation and compliance
- Proactive, year-round tax planning
- Multi-state tax compliance
- Entity structure and tax optimization
Variable operations reviews
- Sales and F&I process evaluations
- Internal-control and risk assessments
Fixed operations consulting
- Service, parts, and collision center analysis
- Open repair order and parts aging reviews
- Parts pad-to-general-ledger reconciliation support
- Inventory, reconditioning, and floor plan analysis
- Departmental profitability analysis
- Cash flow planning
- KPI development and performance benchmarking
Advisory and fractional CFO services
- Acquisition and transaction support
- Compensation and succession planning
PROBLEMS WE HELP SOLVE
Process and Internal Control Gaps
Shortcuts, undocumented procedures, and inconsistent practices can create risk across variable and fixed operations. Our internal control services help evaluate whether approval procedures, documentation standards, segregation of duties, and other safeguards reflect how the dealership actually operates.
Frozen Assets and Inventory Leakage
Aged open repair orders, slow moving parts, unreturned cores, delayed reconditioning, unresolved receivables, and weak floor plan discipline can quietly restrict cash flow. We help dealership leaders identify where assets may be stalled and where stronger processes or accountability may be needed.
Undetected Operational Deficiencies
Operational inefficiencies are not always visible through a standard financial statement review. Evaluating how deals, service work, parts, inventory, and departmental processes flow can uncover issues affecting productivity, profitability, and the customer experience.
Reactive Tax Planning
Effective dealership tax planning should extend beyond year-end. We help dealership owners take a proactive, year-round approach across dealership entities, related businesses, and individual ownership interests to identify opportunities, manage obligations, and prepare for future transactions.
Resources to support complex dealership needs
This expanded network allows our team to help dealerships address more sophisticated challenges without sacrificing the accessibility and personal attention of a trusted local advisor.
Beyond the Audit: A Dealership Insider’s View of Financial Leadership
A clean audit does not necessarily mean every area of a dealership is operating as effectively as it could. Our auto dealership whitepaper explores where cash flow and profitability can quietly weaken, including aging contracts in transit, reconditioning delays, open repair orders, parts discrepancies, compliance gaps, and inconsistent internal processes. It also offers practical guidance to help owners and financial leaders identify where cash and assets may be getting stuck, recognize operational concerns before they become material, strengthen internal controls and accountability, connect financial results with departmental performance, and move from reactive oversight to more proactive financial leadership.
