While most don’t see a benefit to speaking a second language in their personal or professional life, the increasing diversity of large cities and unexpected international elements in business deals is stressing its importance. Even though you may not remember any of your high school Spanish or German, it’s never too late start again, if for no other reason than the financial incentive involved. The Economist joined forces with scholars at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to determine the value of languages; which pay the biggest dividends with regard to education, GDP and compounding salary interest. You’ll be surprised…
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Misuse of university endowments and school funding tax dollars Money laundering is usually associated with criminal activity, but that is a narrow view. Money laundering takes many forms. In this article, Professor Larry Crumbley contends that money laundering occurs in multiple instances—from the local school board to the university setting. Learn the keys to identify the misappropriation and misuse of funds in an academic setting.
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Understanding the different aspects of an industry is key to evaluating a company’s future performance Understanding a subject entity’s industry is a hallmark of any good valuation report. Conducting a very detailed and intense industry analysis can provide valuation analysts with specific knowledge needed to determine an appropriate conclusion of value. As a general rule, a company’s performance is commensurate with the industry to which it belongs. Understanding the different aspects of an industry is a key component to evaluating future performance and the overall value of a company. This is an aspect of business valuation that warrants greater attention…
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At the end of 2013, private equity firms were sitting on a cache of at least $1 trillion, according to a report from Bain & Company. This marks a $159 billion increase from the closeout at the end of 2012. The expected result of this capital bubble isn’t just more deals, but at much higher valuations, as well. As Fortune magazine put it, “…the capital tail will wag the deal dog.” For more information on that unique M&A scenario, read Dan Primack’s article at Fortune/CNNMoney. [button color=”blue” link=”http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/2014/03/05/private-equity-overhang-tops-1-trillion/?iid=SF_F_River” target=”_blank” font=”arial” align=”left”]Read Full Article[/button]
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Recent BV conference discusses DLOM for real estate LLCs This article contains a review of a recent business valuation conference presentation on determining a discount for lack of marketability (DLOM) for real estate holding companies.
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Maximizing value by minimizing risk Most private company owners are not aware of the impact of company-specific risk on the value of their businesses. When they are faced with a need to increase the value of their businesses in order to close a value gap, they typically only focus on growing sales, reducing costs, or making an acquisition. None of those strategies are the most effective initial way to increase value. Adopting measures to reduce company-specific risk is the best initial way to maximize value.
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You could call it UBS, Part II. Back in 2009, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) uncovered 4,700 names of American citizens avoiding taxes with the help of Switzerland’s largest bank, UBS. Most notably, Beanie Babies creator and billionaire, Ty Warner, was caught in the sting that cost UBS $780 million in fines and netted the IRS $6 billion in taxes and fines from a voluntary disclosure program for petrified tax cheats. This time around, it’s Switzerland’s second largest bank, Credit Suisse Group (CSG) that’s in the crosshairs of the IRS. It’s estimated that CSG is harboring offshore accounts for…
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Pharmaceutical companies that have remained among the world’s top 20 largest have all gone through a megamerger with a $10+ billion target company between 1995 and 2005. That sounds like good news, and it is—for the shareholders. On the flipside, such gargantuan couplings tend to wreak havoc on internal management systems, as well as organizational and critical programs; even research and development suffers. It’s because of this regularly negative outcome that most believe mergers within Big Pharma destroy value within the industry. McKinsey & Co. don’t see it that way. In their analysis of 17 deals between 2005 and 2011,…
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Know your state licensing laws! This article examines an important issue that is only now coming to light in cases being litigated: namely, whether professionals also need an investigator license. There is no absolute answer, and professionals—especially forensic accountants and fraud examiners—are advised to read this article.
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The days of applying Mandelbaum and referencing a few IPO and restricted stock studies are over. This article addresses what is often omitted from most asset holding entity valuation reports. By failing to include issues like the ones outlined, the resulting adjustments are less empirical and more a “guesstimate”. Valuation practitioners and their advisory clients have a duty to the users of our reports to accurately address equity level risks.
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FASB has voted to endorse a GAAP alternative to exempt private company lessees from a requirement to consolidate variable interest entities (VIE) in common control leasing arrangements. Initiated by the Private Company Council (PCC), the exemption would be allowed under specific conditions including: Private company lessee and the lessor entity are under common control Private company holds a leasing arrangement with the lessor entity All activity between entities is substantially related to the leasing activity between the lessor and private company Obligations of the lessor that are being guaranteed or collateralized by the private company could, at the inception of…
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Currently, 20 states and the District of Columbia allow some type of legal marijuana use. On January 1st of this year, supply shops all across Colorado began selling to the general public (age 21 and over), in accordance with a voter referendum. Medicinal use bills have been filed or are expected to be introduced in eight additional states, while full legalization bills like that of Colorado have been filed in Vermont and New Hampshire. California has organized a committee to review how it can institute and oversee its own legal marijuana market. The reason states are getting into the marijuana…
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It’s not as simple as it seems This article explores the fact that the valuation of a simple debt instrument, such as a promissory note, can be anything but simple. It is observed that the sum of unpaid debt, as well as accrued interest, may well overstate the value of the promissory note. Also covered is whether assets tied to notes need to be valued separately.
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Four things valuators should know about medical claims and coding While all valuators need to be able to cite specific factors considered in the determination of fair market value, many times the measures selected could be applied to a variety of industries. In this first of a two-part series, Jeffry Moffatt examines why revenue is most often a primary area of interest for valuation, because without revenue, there can be no cash flow. However, not all revenue streams are created equal, and therefore, specialized knowledge of certain industries is needed to qualify the underlying value of cash flow. The healthcare…