The owners of BrightStar Care get money in their pockets when someone opens a new outpost of the home health care chain. But new accounting rules can make it look otherwise.
Franchisers no longer automatically record revenue from the one-time fees new outlets pay headquarters to help them select a storefront or train new employees. The result for small and growing companies: financial statements that can make them look underfunded, which may affect how regulators view the company.
“The impact is huge,” said BrightStar Care CEO Shelly Sun. The privately held Gurnee, Ill.-based company has 330 locations across ...