An Overly High Valuation Can Scare Away Investors or Spark a Down Round that Dilutes an Earlier Angel Investment      Mark Boslet at PE Hub explains that with IPOs on track to have their biggest year since 2010 and some major technology disruptions sparking infectious excitement, it's important to keep in mind key fundamentals including not accepting too high a valuation for your business or investment prop ...

Plus: Bishop v. Commissioner Rules on When and Whether a Bad Debt Loss Can Be a Claimed Deduction In Schwab v. Commissioner, a case turns on when a variable universal life insurance policy is a taxable event.  In Boone Operations Co., LLC v. Commissioner, find out when contributing fill dirt to the city of Tucson is or isn’t a charitable or taxable event. ...

Recent Cases Consider: Fair Market Value in Arkansas, Equalization Payments and Healthcare Credits in Iowa, and Valuations Based on Future Cash Flow in Louisiana Judge Wiggins in Iowa rules In re Marriage of McDermott on equalization payments and tax credits for health insurance payments.  In Louisiana, Judge Williams finds a valuation in Fancher v. Prudhomme invalid since it was based on assumed cash flow— ...

A Petitioner Relies Reasonably on His CPA in Gaggero v. Commissioner, the Tax Court Finds. That Makes a Difference: Here’s Why. In Gaggero v. Commissioner, Judge Holmes at the U.S. Tax Court disagrees with the IRS’s contention that the plaintiff conducted an improper scheme to avoid capital gains.  In First Street Holdings NV, LLC v. MS Mission Holdings, LLC, Judge Markell at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court finds ...

Aswath Damodaran, NYU's Legendary Valuation Expert, Recently Argues that there's a 90% Chance Apple is Undervalued.  Here's Why.   This comes in the wake of Apple shares' breathtaking plunge from recent highs. (That's be about $700 in September to $425 or so today.) In a new blog post, Sam Ro at Business Insider reports that Damodaran thinks that management can learn a few things from the recent market vola ...

Annie Cushing is on a Mission to Rid the World of Ugly Data.  Learn About Data Collection, Analytics, Technical SEO, Analysis, and Beautification.   Annie Cushing,  a Senior SEO at SEER Interactive, a Philadelphia-based online marketing agency, explains that "There comes a time in a marketer’s life when making pretty charts with a predefined dataset just doesn’t cut it. "And finding the sum and average of a ...

“You’re The Boss” Author Josh Patrick Suggests Business Owners Use Credentialed Advisers Who Work Only for You, Employing Intermediaries, Developing a Personal Financial Plan, More.  Josh Patrick is a founder and principal at Stage 2 Planning Partners, where he works with private business owners on creating personal and business value.  Recently he offered some recommendations about selling a business at th ...

MidasFund Will Not Acquire Distressed Companies; However, it Will Buy Stable Divisions of Bankrupt Companies.  Here's Why.   "Last week’s announcement that MidasFund had started acquiring zombie companies caused a flurry of emails," writes Rob Slee on the MidasMoments blog of the MidasNation site.  "Many of you asked about the differences between acquiring distressed, zombie and healthy companies. Let’s dig ...

There Are Different Standards. They Have Different Places in Various Appraisals. Here’s Why. Jim Hitchner considers various responses to the query:  “When valuing an operating company, is it necessary to mention USPAP in addition to SSVS 1 when talking about the standards adhered to?”  Good question. There were lots of answers from various valuators in a recent discussion.  Here’s Jim’s take on it all. ...

The Tax Court Speaks Loudly and Firmly on the Responsibilities of Business Appraisers Hempstead & Co. has published "Estate of Gallagher is a Valuation Tutorial."  The article emphasizes the importance of providing the court with a clear and convincing explanation of the assumptions and arguments you have employed in carrying out a business appraisal. It discusses the recent Tax Court Memorandum opinion ...

Sweet Tax Deductions for Individuals That Often Get Forgotten  With October 15 behind us and April 15 still comfortably far away, it’s a good time to start boning up on ways to save your clients money once things start getting serious. With that in mind, Bankrate.com identified 10 great deductions that individual taxpayers should use – but often forget.  Accounting Today passes on the good news.  Here's the ...

A Valuation Misstatement Results in Tax Underpayment; An Appraisal is “Not Qualified.” In Alpha I, L.P., v. United States, Judge O’Malley of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit considers the legitimacy of certain partnership transfers to charitable remainder unitrusts (CRUTs).  In Rothman v. Commissioner, Judge Laro at the U.S. Tax Court rules on the importance of a “qualified appraisal.”  ...

Investors Cool on Tech A survey of tech firms' valuations shows many companies are challenged.    Here's detail from various reporters: ...

The Weighted Average Method of Estimating Expected Future Earnings is Based on the Average or Arithmetic Mean. Here’s Why that’s Important. Companies that are growing in revenue need to be valued regularly, and they need to be valued with their future growth in mind. The weighted average approach is a valuable tool. But Richard Claywell suggests caution in using it to extrapolate large projections of future ...

There’s Lots We Know about Private Capital. There are Things We Don’t Know, too—and Need to Be Aware of. Robert T. Slee explains in this excerpt several key macro insights—and related themes—that his recent book Private Capital Markets is based on.  The macro insights are that corporate finance theory doesn’t predict behavior in private capital markets, and valuation, capitalization, and transfer are not di ...

New IBA Market Database Tools Empower Valuators to Provide More Concise and Accurate Results: Here’s How. The IBA Market Database includes close to 40,000 comparables, a valuation analyzer, and lots more. Paul French’s review, from the National Litigation Consultants’ Review (NLCR), explains the depth of data now available on the web, and explains how to leverage this exciting new tool. ...

Top State Courts Consider the Value of Goodwill, the Legitimacy of the Income Method of Valuation In State of Texas v. Clear Channel Outdoor, the Texas Court of Appeals considers testimony from an expert regarding the income method of valuation for the billboards; in Walsh v. Walsh, the Court of Appeals of Arizona reassesses the realizable benefits of stock redemption value in a law firm, and determines the ...

Added Ammunition Support Appraisal Assumptions Sherry Smith offers a look at data sources that can deepen and add credibility to valuations, M&A offers, and more. Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Survey, Sageworks, and a number of Secondary Markets for Private Companies (SecondMarket, Sharespost, and Triago) all offer illuminating information. ...

Federal Cases Examine Bankruptcy, Valuation Standards The Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit weighs in on penalties for “gross valuation misstatement” in Gursthaw v. Commissioner, and the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Tennesee rules on the value of mortgage liens In re: Williams. ...

Redefining the Value of Appraisals, and Helping Clients Understand Paul R. Hyde discusses how appraisals come in a variety of configurations based on client needs. Here are tips on how to balance these conflicting demands, and how best to set the expectation for work in valuation. ...