Russ:  This is the PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook.  I’m Russ Capper, this week’s guest host, and I’m here with Brian Baumler, a Senior Vice President with Joint Ventures Strategic Advisors and an Audit Director with PKF Texas.  Brian welcome to the Playbook.

Brian:  Thank you very much Russ, really appreciate it.

Russ:  You bet.  So our topic today is Joint Ventures.  PKF has been in that business for quite some time, right?

Brian:  Absolutely.  Being here in Houston, Texas a lot of joint venture activities take place in energy so being in the energy capital of the world you’ve got to have the Joint Ventures Strategic Advisor Services.

Russ:  Okay, and that Joint Venture Strategic Advisor Services is kind of an upgraded version of what you guys have been doing historically, right?

Brian:  You could say that.  We started getting more heavily involved in it just a few years ago and we now have a group of over 30 people that are assisting us with those types of services right now in Houston.

Russ:  So I’m real curious, I see and know, maybe have been in a joint venture or two myself over time, but when you’re coming in as an advisor do you show up and you’re automatically working for both sides?

Brian:  Well that’s an interesting question.  The reality is we’re engaged by one party but we can represent both sides of the joint venture.  If it just so happens that the way we execute upon what we’re doing we’re actually representing both sides because the benefits of whatever comes out of those joint ventures does that in both parts.

Russ:  Real interesting.  So strategic advisors on joint ventures, you’re coming in there and they’re not really merged, they’re just sort of partnering on an initiative.

Brian:  That’s exactly correct; they’re mutually executing under arrangement to pursue an investment interest jointly and hopefully have a good result.

Russ:  Okay, but it seems to me that has more of a chance of going off the track than a real merger; is that right?

Brian:  Well the reality is you want to make sure that whoever the operator is is the partner who’s really responsible for executing under all the activities that they mutually agreed to in the beginning, and at the end of the day you’re just trying to make sure everybody stays honest.

Russ:  Okay, well I want to have you back and talk about this a little more, is that okay with you?

Brian:  Absolutely.

Russ:  All right.  For more about joint ventures services visit JVSA.com.  This has been another Thought Leader Production brought to you by PKF Texas Entrepreneur’s Playbook.