Adam Torres and Jennifer Calabrese discuss the Microcap Conference.
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Show Notes:
Listen to the Microcap Conference coverage. In this episode, Adam Torres interviews Jennifer Calabrese, Founder & CEO at Calabrese Consulting, explore Calabrese Consulting and the Microcap Conference.
Watch Full Interview:
About Jennifer Calabrese
Jennifer began her career at KPMG, LLP specializing in the Information, Communications and Entertainment industry, amassing knowledge and experience that would guide her life’s work.
Jenn also spent several years working for publicly traded companies, serving as Corporate Controller, Director of Accounting and SEC Reporting, Executive Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer.
She specializes in SEC financial reporting, compliance, and consulting services to facilitate the reporting between auditors and public companies on behalf of clients. Jenn founded Calabrese Consulting, LLC (“CCL”) in 2012, a minority/woman-owned, full-service accounting and advisory firm which currently employs over 50 employees, serving more than 350 clients around the world. She applies a hands-on approach that stems from her tenure on both the client and audit sides, and exemplifies her dedication to her craft.
About Calabrese Consulting
Calabrese is a Financial Accounting and Advisory Services firm. By leveraging decades of experience and a vast network of professionals, they provide you with the deep expertise, dual perspective, and streamlined process needed to successfully navigate your business challenges.
Full Unedited Transcript
Hey, I’d like to welcome you to another episode of mission matters. My name is Adam Torres, and if you’d like to apply to be a guest in the show, just head on over to mission matters. com and click on be our guest to apply. All right. So today I am in an Atlantic city, New Jersey, and I’m at the micro cap conference and let me tell you.
I just now watched an amazing panel and I was able to snag one of the panelists to come on the show. So first off, I’d like to say welcome, Jennifer. Thank you. Thank you very much, Adam. All right, Jen. So first off, have you been to a microcap conference before? I’m just curious. Yes, actually, this is my second year at this conference in particular.
So we’ve been as a platform covering this conference now for the last couple of years, but mostly remotely, this is my first time attending. And I have to tell you, I’ve been blown away the energy, the people in the room, what keeps you coming back? You know, it’s the same thing. I mean, it really is such a great platform to be able to meet all the advisors, all the companies, they really, it’s a really good place to really just kind of get together and put faces to names.
So, yeah, this is a great conference. You were just on the panel and you had a couple of points you spoke to, maybe just a lot of people at home that weren’t able to obviously be here. What’d you talk about on the panel? Just give us a little bit. We talked a little bit about the microcap industry itself and the trends and things that we’re going to be seeing in 2025 or what we think.
think we’re going to see in 2025. So you know, one of them obviously being with the change in regime with the administration coming in and possibly, you know, a little bit of deregulation. Through the sec. So kind of going through that. The fact that we also spoke a little bit about the fact that the micro cap companies really don’t seem to have a focus on them.
So, you know, how can they be more in the public eye and how can people really know more about them and how can they be more successful in their space? Yeah. Talk a little bit more about your company and what you do. So what we do is we work hand in hand with the, with different companies and we help them from an accounting and financial reporting perspective.
So, We act almost like they’re outsourced CFO or controller because a lot of these companies, given the fact that they’re microcap, they don’t have the ability to have somebody on hand on staff. You are a full time position, but still they really do need to have that financial reporting piece. Obviously as a public company, you have to report on your numbers.
You have to do your filings with the sec. So we come in and we work with them in that capacity. So we help them get their books and records closed. We help them write their financial statements. We manage the audit process, so all of that financial reporting piece that’s really important because at the end of the day, as a microcap company, right, you have to do presentations, you have to present your numbers, you have to sell your story and behind all of that are your numbers.
Yeah. So we help them really get comfortable with the numbers to really understand it. And then to be able to present their story and then hopefully execute and get the funding that they need or to do whatever it is that their goals are. Yeah. I’m a big fan of the fractional model in that, because I feel like, like you mentioned, if you can’t afford to have maybe the full time person, or you actually use the word afford, if you’re just not at that point in the business where you want to spend, you want, that’s where the capital is going.
Then I also think there’s, that’s the, to me, that’s the obvious, but then I feel like there’s another layer. And to me, that layer is incorrect me if I’m off on this, but when they’re working with a company like yours. You work with many companies, so even if there is that CFO or that person on the inside, there’s still kind of within that one company for yourself because you’re across different industries with many companies.
Can you speak to that a little bit? Yeah, you’re right. That’s true. I mean, given the fact that we’re outside and we have so many different companies, you know, clients that we work with, that it’s very easy for us to bring in the best practices of what we’ve seen at other places and to be able to speak to that and to say, Hey, you know, You’re doing it this way.
But no, we saw it succeed at a different company. I think we can apply it here. Same thing with, you know, different trends, you know, and I see it often where we’re at a company and they’ll do a registration statement. The SEC will come back with comments and We’ll see. Oh my gosh, the sec is now focusing on this.
Okay, well now I need to ensure that all of my other clients are aware of this issue and we address it. We get ahead of the game. It’s a great example as opposed to I want to make the connection for the audience as opposed to if you’re within the company and you filed that, that’s the first time you’ve seen that.
Exactly. Cause you’re not going to be doing it over and over again. Like, so that’s the first time you see that. And it’s very different when you’re on the inside. Cause I’ve been on the inside in a previous lifetime as well. And when you’re on the inside, as much as you try to do your research in your homework, it’s very difficult, you know, and you always want to surround yourself.
As a company with the best experts and advisors that you can. So, you know, having a company like ours, we can give them that experience and the expertise that we have. And then we also work with so many different auditors and lawyers and bankers that our universe is. You know, more expanded so we can also bring in their expertise and say, Hey, you know, yes, your lawyers are doing this, you know, but we’ve also seen this and that.
And we actually have a really good rapport with the lawyers at the different companies because they appreciate that we can bring in that, that type of expertise. What kind of company gets the most value out of working with you and your team? And what I mean by that is like, is it whether it’s size count people industry, whatever your metric is, like who typically gets the most value out of working with you and your team?
I think it’s, it’s not so much of, you know, an industry or anything. I think it’s more like, like you said, like, like the micro cap, it’s, it’s the type of company where they’re hungry, they’re looking to grow, they want to do more. And they just, like I said before, don’t have. The ability to have somebody in house full time.
And I think really those types of companies will really get the most out of us because that’s my space is the microcap space or the SPAC space also, which is a different industry as well. And we, you know, we really work well with them because that’s what we do. That’s our specialty to really work with them and help them.
Amazing. Well, I know you got a busy conference ahead of you. And so last thing I want you to do is if you can just look into the camera and tell everyone how they can learn more about your company. And if somebody wants to follow up with your team, how do they do that? They can definitely reach out to us.
We have our own website. It’s Calibri CPA. com. And on that website, you have our number, our QR code, and you also have our email so you can reach out to us through there. And we’re also on LinkedIn as well. Perfect. And for everybody watching, just so you know, we’ll definitely put the links in the show notes so you can just click on the link and head right on over.
And speaking of the audience, if this is your first time with Mission Matters and you haven’t done it yet. Hit that subscribe or follow button. This is a daily show each and every day. We’re bringing you new content, new ideas, and hopefully new inspiration to help you along the way in your journey as well.
So again, hit that subscribe or follow button. And Jen, again, thank you so much for coming. Thank you very much for having me. It’s been great.