As an investment, real estate has long been regarded as a fixed asset. But the industry is a study in dynamics. Continuing shifts in supply, demand, ownership, and capital structure are creating a host of new opportunities and challenges. Traditional real estate investors, such as banks, insurance companies, and individuals, have been joined-and in some cases elbowed aside-by real estate investment trusts, opportunistic investors, and pension funds looking to boost or broaden their portfolios. As a result, real estate has undergone a fundamental structural change. Institutions are replacing entrepreneurs as owners. Global capital markets are increasingly providing financing. Portfolio management and asset management are the new means for creating value. Increasing emphasis is being placed on information technology. And efficient operations are critical to competitive success. Today’s real estate company needs more than agility to adapt to quick changing market fundamentals. It needs an experienced adviser who can provide clear insights to help devise the right solutions to create and preserve value.
KPMG’s Real Estate practice provides a full range of integrated consulting, tax, and assurance services to clients who construct, develop, own or manage commercial and residential real estate, as well as to clients with hospitality-related assets.
KPMG’s industry focus benefits our clients by addressing changing market challenges with services that are tailored to meet specific customer needs. We approach real estate as an industry, as a class of investment assets, and, in the case of corporate real estate portfolios, as an opportunity to increase shareholder value. We recognize the unique properties and growing maturity of real estate as an asset class, and we continually focus on ways to help real estate companies compete, grow, and succeed.
The broad range of clients we serve includes:
* Real estate investment trusts (REITs)
* Institutional investors
* Hospitality companies
* Corporate owners of real estate
* Construction companies
What differentiates KPMG is our integrated team approach and seasoned industry professionals. Our ability to analyze a company’s business dynamics and offer meaningful insight and advice stems from our coordinated approach from three perspectives-consulting, tax and assurance. And we can provide this approach on a national as well as a global basis with a network of more than 900 real estate professionals in the United States and over 2,000 worldwide.
KPMG understands the key challenges impacting the real estate industry, such as:
* Access to capital
* Continued pressure to increase profitability
* Accurate anticipation of market trends and
customer needs
* Continually changing tax legislation
* Organizational issues
caused by consolidation, growth, and systems
* Processes that have not kept up with the pace
of change
* Heightened risk management
* Elevated investor expectations
KPMG marshals its significant industry experience and resources to provide companies with practical approaches to help meet strategic goals. We deploy professionals with relevant industry backgrounds who devote their talent and tactical skills to helping real estate clients grow, improve operations, and succeed in the marketplace.
Our background in professional services brings even more advantages, including a wide range of service offerings based on our multidisciplinary experience. This translates into a sound approach that can help assist real estate companies to develop, implement, and realize benefits from their business strategies.
TAX
KPMG’s Tax Services professionals can recommend strategies and solutions to help you reduce federal income tax expense, manage the tax-planning function, and meet tax compliance needs within the real estate industry. Our corporate real estate value enhancement strategies help companies to maximize shareholder value through tax-advantaged structuring with partial or full recapitalization of their assets, allowing them to focus on core business. To help real estate companies minimize tax liability and optimize business results, our State and Local Tax practice provides results-oriented services ranging from income/franchise, to property and employment, to sales and transactions. And KPMG’s Total Tax Minimization is a comprehensive, structured approach designed to deliver long-term, sustainable value by creating an environment in which tax and business strategies are closely integrated. Our Personal Financial Planning practice is in sync with the entrepreneurial nature of real estate and assists high-net-worth individuals in minimizing income and estate taxes through innovative tax strategies.
ASSURANCE
The idea at the heart of KPMG’s audit is simple yet powerful: In today’s environment, and auditor’s judgement must be grounded in thorough knowledge of a client’s industry and business. And an audit’s relevance must extend beyond financial statement risk if its value is to reach full potential.
KPMG’s Assurance Services Practice focuses on what is most important to real estate companies: minimizing risk. Our Business Measurement Process (BMP) audit enables companies to identify business risks that may threaten performance, measure and benchmark performance, and determine how risks affect financial statements. Our Assurance-Based Advisory Services (ABAS) address crucial areas such as profit enhancement, business process improvement, strategic planning, and credit portfolio management for small to mid-tier financial services companies. Information Risk Management (IRM) focuses on the hazards inherent in technology systems used to support business objectives. Global Financial Strategies professionals provide integrated, end-to-end support for all aspects of domestic, cross-border, and global financial transactions within the life cycle of a business. Forensic & Litigation Services professionals conduct investigations to detect, monitor, and prevent fraud.
CONSULTING
Our Consulting Services practice assists large and small organizations in developing strategies to address the complex issues resulting from increased competition and challenges in the real estate industry. Our mission is to deliver well-founded, comprehensive solutions that contribute to the growth and profitability objectives of real estate companies.
KPMG’s World-Class Finance practice helps CFOs and leading finance executives extend the power of finance outside their organizations to help win business, capture market share, negotiate more effectively, and truly drive the value of their enterprises in the Marketplace. Our Customer Management Services practice provides innovative sales, marketing, and service solutions that focus on making it easier and more valuable for your customers to do business with your organization, reduce the cost of doing business, and enhance customer relationships. Enterprise Resource Planning supports real estate firms in selecting and implementing enterprisewide software packages. And our Systems Integration practice takes advantage of standards-based computing to assemble preexisting application and systems components that deliver high-functioning business solutions at lower cost.
Our dedicated focus on the real estate industry allows us to keep clients up to date on industry-specific developments, business opportunities, and best practices. In short, we believe that our experience provides our clients with clear, understandable business advice that can lead to improved results and increased shareholder value. And with a fully global capability, KPMG has the right resources to help meet a company’s needs regardless of geographic location.
For more information about our Real Estate practice, please contact Celina Doka, Orange County Real Estate practice, at (714) 850-4370 or via e-mail at cdoka@kpmg.com.
