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Rick Kadet

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Vice President, Senior CFO Consultant, The Brenner Group, Inc.

1123 points

Experienced Consulting CFO with The Brenner Group, Inc. practicing with emerging Internet, technology and life sciences companies in Silicon Valley. With twelve years in consulting and over 60 clients, plus four prior CFO positions on a full time basis, I ...

Experienced Consulting CFO with The Brenner Group, Inc. practicing with emerging Internet, technology and life sciences companies in Silicon Valley. With twelve years in consulting and over 60 clients, plus four prior CFO positions on a full time basis, I have extensive experience in all aspects of finance and operational management. Prior experience includes CFO/COO positions with Versant Corporation, InfoSpan Corporation, Cadre Technologies, Inc., and Sarama Industries. Also worked at General Electric, am a graduate of its Financial Management Program, a Corporate Travelling Auditor and Business Controller.

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Rick Kadet answered this question

May 28, 2011

Are you comfortable giving advice to brick-and-mortar startups?

I suspect that the reason much advice is related to web and App based startups is that there are so many of them and the folks running them are active on the web. Those in more traditional businesses may be less likely to seek advice ... more

Advice for Startups

Brick-and-mortar Businesses

Rick Kadet answered this question

May 27, 2011

Pros:Cons: Would you use your phone as your wallet? (Googe Wallet)

I hate to say it, but I think the payment using cell phone is overhyped and is not such a huge improvement in our lives. That said, there will be a time when such a payment system and safe and easy to use, but I ... more

Merchant Services

Rick Kadet and 3 other people answered this question

May 27, 2011

What are 409A valuations and why are they needed for issuance of stock options?

Sorry I missed this question when it first came by. The 409A valuation sets the current value of the common stock of a company that expects to issue stock options. IRS rules require that incentive stock options be issued at fair market value, which in ... more

Rick Kadet and 3 other people answered this question

May 26, 2011

Why does the Sierra Club lobby against so many solar power projects?

Regretfully, over the centuries, humans have proved insensitive to the environment in the name of development. Our environmental movement in the last century exposed many of our destructive practices in poluting the air, water and land with toxic materials. The lost of animal and plant ... more

Rick Kadet answered this question

May 26, 2011

Will we ever see meaningful entitlement reform in the United States?

I don't think that the current elderly are going to be a problem with entitlement reform; further persons that will retire at their normal retirement age for the next five to ten years may not be a problem either, as most plans that I have ... more

Federal Government

Rick Kadet and 2 other people answered this question at this roundtable

May 26, 2011

China's Energy Future and the Shale Gas Question [5/25 @ 11 am]

What are the specific steps China should take to become more efficient in energy consumption?

It takes a brave person to tell a billion person country how to improve their energy efficiency. However coming to development later, China can decide not to make the mistakes that more developed countries made, and in some cases continue to make.
Most Chinese do not ... more

Rick Kadet and 2 other people answered this question

May 25, 2011

How can a startup maintain its culture as the company grows up?

Culture is considerably more than dress codes. In my work with startup firms for many years, I can say with confidence that culture is quite important yet very difficult to maintain in a growth mode. Further, a firm can let its culture easily go into ... more

Human Resources

Company Culture

Employee Engagement

Rick Kadet and 2 other people answered this question

May 25, 2011

Should a small business have an annual operating budget and adhere to its budget?

There is considerable value in having an annual budget and operating plan. I certainly would prepare a plan in writing and then a financial model to see what impact there is from your intentions. For example, if you see the need to increase inventories, the ... more

Financial Planning

Operating Budget

Rick Kadet and 11 other people answered this question

May 25, 2011

What do you post about on your small business social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, Blogger)

Some time ago, I made the effort to increase the number of contacts on LinkedIn, which I believe functions as a "business Twitter." Through LinkedIn you can speak to persons that actually know you and might react to what you post.
I try to use this ... more

Rick Kadet and 1 other person answered this question

May 25, 2011

Should Congress end subsidies for ethanol production?

I would recommend phasing out ethanol subsidies. While they have had a temporary effect of increasing farm incomes and somewhat lowering oil imports, I think using a food grain for fuel is ethically bankrupt and in the long run not a good use of our ... more

Rick Kadet and 3 other people answered this question

May 21, 2011

Are you in favor of clawing back entitlements in order to reduce the deficit?

The word clawback is a poor word for a difficult situation our country faces. However with that said, I do believe our current entitlements systems are unsustainable.
There are so many entitlements that it would take a book to really explore this subject. However the ... more

Deficit Reduction

Rick Kadet and 1 other person answered this question

May 21, 2011

What are your thoughts on LinkedIn's IPO pricing?

It is hard to say whether LinkedIN was well served by its investment bankers or not. A number of years ago, I personally was involved in an IPO in which the investment bankers priced the stock at $8.00 in a difficult market. It was a ... more

Bank of America

Corporate Finance

Rick Kadet and 1 other person answered this question

May 19, 2011

Will rising raw material costs squeeze corporate profits or will consumers tolerate higher prices?

This is a matter of great concern. A 20% increase in costs is far too high for nearly any business to absorb and certainly it will have to raise prices or reformulate some of the items it sells to reduce costs and quality.
Gap makes nothing ... more

Rick Kadet and 3 other people answered this question

May 18, 2011

How can one force a customer to pay outstanding debts without ruining the relationship?

I am constantly amused by credit problems that companies have and how easy it is to rush into doing business with a potential customer without knowing more about them.
Credit information can be had in various ways including having the prospect fill out a credit ... more

Customer Service

Accounts Receivable

Rick Kadet and 8 other people answered this question

May 18, 2011

George Soros dumps $800 million in gold; calls gold "the ultimate bubble". Do you agree?

We have watched gold go up and down over the decades and I am hard pressed to see that there is any economic impact from what happens in the gold market. As gold, like many commodities, is a worldwide market, so conditions in Europe or ... more

Financial Markets

Rick Kadet and 12 other people answered this question

May 16, 2011

Who is really to blame for high gas prices: Big Oil, Saudi Arabia, speculators or supply?

I don't believe in central planning, but cheap oil allows for ineffective uses. The more the price increases, the more likely it is that people will treat the product like the scarce resource it is and do the right thing. I am asking people to ... more

Rick Kadet and 5 other people answered this question

May 16, 2011

Why does core inflation exclude food and energy prices?

It makes sense to measure inflation in multiple ways to see its impact on our overall economy. One way that it is common to measure inflation is to see how it affects the goods and services we buy without the impact of volatile food and ... more

Financial Markets

Rick Kadet and 3 other people answered this question

May 16, 2011

Relationship of Financial Management with other related disciplines?

The quick answer is that finance is associated with record keeping and accounting for what the other functions are doing. Finance tabulates the results of sales by the sales function, the results from spending by each function and provides reports to management on these financial ... more

Financial Management

Financial Services

Rick Kadet and 10 other people answered this question

May 13, 2011

Should Congress end tax breaks for oil companies?

I don't think most of us know what these tax breaks are and what benefit we derive from them. So perhaps I should not be writing on this subject at all. But my reaction is that a predictable economic and tax system is needed by ... more

Financial Markets

Rick Kadet and 1 other person answered this question

May 11, 2011

Is the U.S. trade deficit good or bad?

The trade deficit is bad, but it does not tell the whole story. There are cash inflows into the US economy that are not measured by the trade deficit and allow us to stay in balance. Some of these inflows are the purchase of US ... more

Rick Kadet and 2 other people answered this question

May 11, 2011

What measures can be taken to prevent another "flash crash"?

I accept your reasoning but disagree with the conclusions. I think that regulation will be constantly behind where the market is going. Right now the fad is instant trading with companies locating their computers closer to the exchange to gain the millisecond advantage. I think ... more

Rick Kadet and 3 other people answered this question

May 10, 2011

What factors go into making a decision to move your company to another state?

For a company the size of Sears, this would be a major and dissruptive move if they decide to do it. Many key employees would not go along. Sears, or any company, would have to decide whether the cost was worth it.
In a cynical ... more

General Management

Rick Kadet and 6 other people answered this question

May 9, 2011

Should the U.S. make reducing the deficit its top priority even over jobs and GDP growth?

It is difficult to contemplate the consequences of a default by the US in its debt, which would impact everything from savings bonds held by citizens to debt held by China. The guarantees made by the government of bank deposits would as well be threatened ... more

Rick Kadet and 2 other people answered this question

May 9, 2011

Will the Euro be able to survive bank runs in countries like Ireland and Portugal?

I fail to see how the bank run affects the currency rather than just the bank and the economy of the country where the bank is located. Banks fail in this country all the time without any effect on the currency.
The bigger issue is that ... more

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