Don Drummond, CPA

My background is internal audit and controls. I ran SOX audit programs over financial reporting at XO Communications, and before that did governance and risk assessments at Deloitte, including internal-control work for a $3 billion federal agency. I trained in assurance at Ernst & Young, briefly, at the start of my career.

Reading an FDD well is an audit problem, not a sales problem. The interesting parts of a franchise disclosure are the parts that are technically true and practically misleading: an Item 19 built from the top third of the system, a growth story that hides its terminations in the “ceased operations — other reasons” column, an Item 21 carrying going-concern language the franchisor’s recruiter has never read. Finding the gap between what a document says and what it means is the entire job of an auditor, and it is the entire job here.

In between, I spent six years as a U.S. Army officer and then managed a $300 million international logistics agreement across 11 sites. Franchise buyers are usually making the biggest operational commitment of their lives. I have some feel for what it costs to run something complicated when the consequences are real.

A franchise broker or “consultant” is almost always paid a commission by the franchisor — often a five-figure placement fee — when you sign. They are paid to place you in something, and they are paid nothing at all if the right answer is “none of these.” That is not a character flaw; it is arithmetic.

No brand rated on this site has paid me for its coverage — no commissions, no referral fees, no listing fees, no paid placement. No brand can buy a better verdict, a higher ranking, or a mention. When I work for a buyer, that buyer is the only person paying me, which leaves me free to say walk away.