Well, it was monday, we at the office were deciding what to do to get the business in order. Walks in an ' Area Manager ' of IPA, saying that they usually find 5 to 6% in extra profitability in all business our size, by taking a look at our financials and optimizing our operation. And he used the pitch that the guy was in the area, so i was getting 200 bucks off from the regular price, paying $750.00 for the survey.

Being interested in the best possible position for my business to be in, i agreed to have IPA come in and give me an outsider's point of view on things. The guy that did the survey showed some great numbers, and said that our situation was fixable. Then he went over what would COST to get it done, $245 an hour PER person, plus, airfare, plus hotel, plus 46 bucks daily charge, plus some other charge. I agreed to it, giving the fact that the surveyor GUARANTEED me that the situation was 'Fixable' and that the project manager would take care of receiving the money, AS OUR CASHFLOW PERMITS. I was skeptical of that at the beggining, and so were my other associates, but we were guaranteed by this surveyor that this was the way they did business, they would work with us, getting paid as our cashflow permited. I was reasured several times by the surveyor that the payment for their services would not be a burden on our company, that they would work with us to increase profitability and getting things done.

2 Days later, after giving us information that we already knew, it was time to receive the bill, $14.000,00 Dollars, for 2 days work. the ITA associate came in for 1 day, asked a few questions, gave us NOTHING, not a single paperwork, file or advice was left with us about the tax part, but a $3.700,00 bill for 1 days work of this tax associate. Any CPA would have charged me about 1k, maybe 1.5k to come in, spend 2 days with us and give us the same information.

What really makes me mad about this company, is that even though they know that your financial situation is not the best, they come as if they were going to help, but they bury you in overcharging for services and demanding payment right away ( contrary to what was told to me by the sales guy and the surveyor ), in another words, if i want to pay them and all my other business expenses, i will not have money to pay for my bills this month. They do not care about you or your business, they do not care if they are making a difference, all they care about is their invoice getting paid.They are not on your side. Beware, do yourself a favor, hire a regular CPA to get the job done if you need to, but stay away from these SHARKS that prey on small business.

Please someone do something about this company, and stay away from them, they might promise you great profits on the long run, but you'll never get there after you pay their 1st bill.

Jose
Fresno, California
U.S.A.