Phil Villegas has been in the retail automotive industry for over 25 years. Phil has managed and performed hundreds of dealership operational field visits, focusing on areas such as business efficiency, due diligence, buy/sells, interim CFO, internal controls, financial viability, fraud, special finance, and systems integration.
Phil’s specialty is consulting with retail automotive dealership clients regarding expansion and internal controls. Whether it is optimizing operations, evaluating M&A opportunities, determining organizational structure, creating financial forecasts, assisting in raising capital or tackling manufacturer related issues, Phil’s in-depth experience and knowledge provides a valued resource to our clients of every size and complexity.
Phil also has litigation support experience, assisting in numerous cases regarding business valuation matters, lost profits, calculation of business damages, franchise rights, wrongful employee discharge and purported fraud.
His hands-on working knowledge of dealership operations and accounting is a valuable resource to our clients, allowing him to not only identify issues, but also suggest solutions.
Phil has been a speaker at the NADA, AICPA and NAMAD conventions, Phil also has written a monthly column for the prestigious Ward’s Dealer Business and has been a guest columnist with Professional Auto News, F&I Management Magazine, and Dealer Marketing Magazine.
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Phil’s insight has been featured in Automotive News,  AutoExec and DealersEdge.
Professionally, Phil has “grown-up” in the dealership environment.  The son of a car mechanic and repair shop owner, Phil knows first-hand the value of hard work, customer satisfaction, delivering value, and entrepreneurship. Following a tour of duty in Desert Storm with the United States Marine Corps, Phil started working as a file clerk in a dealership while attending the University of South Florida.
Through his rapid advancement, his role grew to include responsibility for the internal control environment of more than 30 dealerships with the nation’s largest automotive retailer, AutoNation.  While at AutoNation’s Northwest District, he was a key part in taking the market platform from worst to first in overall performance.
Prior to launching Axiom Advisors, LLC, Phil served 8 years with Morrison, Brown, Argiz & Farra, LLC (“MBAF”) one of the nation’s premier automotive dealership CPA firms. At MBAF, Phil was an integral component of MBAF’s Auto Dealerships Division’s growth by developing and heading the firm’s Dealership Consultancy group.
SEMINARS AND LECTURES
Is It Occupational Fraud or is it Just One of the Benefits of Working at a Dealership?
AICPA Auto Dealership Conference, Las Vegas, NV, 2017
Fraud Causes and Consideration: Observations of Underlying Fraud Environment in Dealerships and How to Address Key Blind Spots
AICPA Auto Dealership Conference, Orlando, FL, 2015
Behavioral Patterns of Automotive Transactions –
NAADA Annual Conference, Jacksonville, FL, 2013
Open Points vs. Buy/Sells – Nissan North America –
NAMAD Dealer Meeting, Franklin, TN, 2010
Low-Tech Tactics to Combat High-Tech Dealership Embezzlers! –
DealersEdge Online Training Center, Miami, FL, 2010
Buy/Sells – Essentials in Creating your Own Opportunity –
National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, San Diego, CA, 2008
Secrets of the Trade: Covering the Essentials on Getting Your Next Deal –
National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, Baltimore, MD, 2007
Long-term Viability is Key: How to Perform Due Diligence When Assessing a
Dealership Opportunity –
National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, Baltimore, MD, 2006
What’s Your Plan? Road Map for Developing an Effective Business Plan –
Alliance of Ford Motor Minority Dealers, Miami, FL, 2005
Elements of Successful Dealers –
National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers, Baltimore, MD, 2005
Dealer Defined – How Emerging Changes in the Automotive Retail Culture Will Redefine the Way Dealers Do Business in the Future –
American International Automobile Dealers Association, Washington, DC, 2005
Jump Start! A Dealer’s Guide to Taking their Dealership to the Next Level –
National Independent Automobile Dealers Association, Atlanta, GA, 2005
What’s Your Destination? A Road Map for Dealership Expansion –
National Automobile Dealers Association, New Orleans, LA, 2005
Back to Basics: Business Skills Training to Effectively Operate your Organization – Florida Minority Community Reinvestment Coalition, Orlando, FL, 2004
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
National Association of Minority Automobile Dealers
National Automobile Dealers Association