FDD Updating - Initial Thoughts

Franchise registration renewal season is almost on us as most franchisors have a December 31 fiscal year end. In preparation for gathering the information that you will need to update your FDD, please keep the following tips in mind:

1. Make sure that your auditors are aware of the filing deadline for your registrations, so that they can plan their audit to be completed and their opinion issued well before this date.
2. Most auditors are now requiring that they complete a review of your FDD before they will issue their auditor's consent. Plan your FDD update timeline to allow at least a week for the auditors to review the final FDD.
3. If your database system is real time, plan to run all the reports that you will need to complete your Item 20 tables on January 1 or 2, before you change the numbers. In this manner, it is easier to reconcile your numbers without having to also work backward from the date you begin preparing your tables.

That's all the tips for this week. I will keep adding tips each week as the FDD update season gets into full swing in January.