Tax Credit Investment Services

CohnReznick’s Tax Credit Investment Services (TCIS) is a dedicated business unit within CohnReznick that provides strategic advisory and due diligence services to help institutional investors make informed decisions on acquiring and managing tax-advantaged investments. Not only do community development tax credit investments help banks meet their obligations under the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA), they also offer institutional investors a competitive rate of return and a very low risk profile.

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Leverage interactive operational and performance data for housing credit properties.

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The TCIS team is comprised of a multi-disciplinary group of professionals including CPAs, financial analysts and other professionals with real estate, banking and public-sector experience.

Working with commercial real estate, compliance, and corporate tax personnel, TCIS provides advisory services related to equity market conditions, investment options, investment due diligence, regulatory requirements, and investment impacts to financial statements.

TCIS also provides advisory services focused on best practices in due diligence, asset monitoring, and counter-party risk management, which result in improvements to community investment strategies, policies and procedures, legal documentation, and investor reporting.

Working with commercial real estate, compliance, and corporate tax personnel, the TCIS team helps developers and investors of housing credit properties understand equity market conditions, investment options, investment due diligence, regulatory requirements, and investment impacts to financial statements.

Composed of a multidisciplinary group of professionals including CPAs, financial analysts, and other professionals with real estate, banking, and public-sector experience, TCIS also helps improve community investment strategies, policies and procedures, legal documentation, and investor reporting. Services are focused on developing best practices in three key areas: due diligence, asset monitoring, and counter-party risk management.

TCIS consults with and provides industry data and insights for stakeholders including the U.S. Government Accountability Office and numerous investors, syndicators, and developers. The team’s projects have included:

• Producing a bi-monthly “Housing Tax Credit Monitor” for the National Housing & Rehabilitation Association’s Tax Credit Advisor magazine, reporting housing tax credit equity market trends and pricing

• Developing the Portfolio Performance Indicator (PPI), the nation’s first interactive platform for housing credit property operational and performance data

• Authoring over 600 investment due diligence reports for tax credit investors

• Providing multi-investor, proprietary, and secondary market transactions analysis

• Designing the industry’s first and leading third-party application that automates the proportional amortization method for housing tax credit investments

Tax credit and investment strategies

Assist with strategic planning and execution to satisfy client-specific investment goals
Educate clients on investment methods and investment offerings
Speak regularly at industry events to increase understanding of tax-advantaged investment vehicles

Investment Due Diligence

Evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the managers of housing tax credit, renewable energy and any tax-advantaged investment fund offerings
Assess the risk profile of property and fund investments
Review and stress-test financial and accounting assumptions of property and fund investment projections

Financial Accounting and Consulting

Consult on technology platform needed to support the accounting for tax credit investments
Implement AmortizationPro, the industry’s first and leading third-party application that automates the proportional amortization method for housing tax credit investments as well as other accounting methods for tax credit investments

Portfolio and Asset Management Reviews

Review investment portfolio records to identify yield and benefit delivery results
Review investment portfolio records for unclaimed tax credits and loss benefits
Evaluate asset management reporting utilized to monitor portfolio performance
Advise on exit strategies to reduce asset management burden.

Organizational Assessment and Best Practices

Evaluate current policies and procedures for identifying suitable investments, undertaking due diligence, negotiating business terms and approving investments, closing investments and monitoring performance, investment disposition, and troubled asset workout
Benchmark policies and procedures to industry best practices and identify deficiencies
Review strategic, compensation, and succession and contingency plans, as well as business continuity and disaster recovery plans
Evaluate individual investment criteria in the context of strategic plans
Assess client interdepartmental coordination
Assess reliance on external resources for investment acquisitions and asset monitoring
Make recommendations for improvements to operations and procedures

Market Education and Industry Research

Monitor and benchmark tax credit industry landscape, performance track record, and stakeholder activities
Present basic investment considerations through the life cycle of tax-advantaged investments
Develop staff training materials relative to tax-advantaged investments
Provide policy and regulatory advisory services
Provide insight on the LIHTC market