• QuickRead Featured - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Discount Rates in a Purchase Price Allocation

    Understanding the nature and risk of expected cash flow This discussion summarizes the interrelatedness of the weighted average cost of capital and the weighted average return on assets within the context of a purchase price allocation for financial reporting purposes. Failure to understand this fundamental relationship can lead to inaccurate estimates of value for the acquired assets and, therefore, inaccurate reported asset values and amortization expense on the financial statements of the acquirer. The WACC can be viewed as a weighted average of the required rates of return for the individual assets of the acquired company. The selected intangible asset…

  • Mergers and Acquisitions/Exit Planning - QuickPress

    More Mega Media Acquisitions Raise Questions

    Up until now, all the corporate M&A talk for 2014 has surrounded the $45 billion deal Comcast has made for Time-Warner Cable. That’s not just because of the price tag. If approved by regulators, Comcast would end up as the internet gatekeeper for one out of every three homes and businesses in the country. That’s also a lot of power and control over internet access, quality and service for one third of the country. As media titans continue to consolidate, many are asking whether it’s wise to put so much power into so few hands. The latest questions surround an…

  • Case Law - QuickRead Featured - QuickRead Top Story

    Regulation A+: Not for Start-Ups or Early-Stage Companies

    Proposed rule amendments for small businesses and additional exemptions under Section 3(b) of the Securities Act On December 18, 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission released their long-awaited proposed rules on Regulation A+. The amendments to Regulation A were proposed pursuant to Title IV of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. The proposed rules are intended to increase access to the capital markets for lower middle-market firms since Reg. A has been sparingly used; there were only 19 qualified Reg. A offerings between 2009 and 2012. While pre-revenue firms, start-ups and those in the early stages will not…

  • Forensic Accounting - QuickRead Featured

    Was it Greed or Ignorance?

    Forensic professionals endure trench warfare Discovery provides a window of opportunity to gather evidence and develop expert reports. A trained forensics professional can ascertain whether cash deposits were all accounted for or secreted. It is advisable and well worth the time, trouble, and money to retain a forensic professional to conduct an analysis.

  • Valuation/Appraisal

    ASB Releases Second Exposure Draft for USPAP Changes

    The Appraisal Standards Board (ASB) has released the Second Exposure Draft for proposed changes to the 2016-2017 Uniform Standards for Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). The scheduled revisions include: Defining the term “report” Edits to eliminate confusion regarding report drafts Revisions to Standard 3 to enhance consistency with other standards and clarify dates identified and reported Edits to eliminate confusion regarding confidentiality Other edits to improve clarity and enforceability of USPAP Comments are due by June 2, 2014. They can be submitted to ASBcomments@appraisalfoundation.org. You can read the full second exposure draft at the link below. [button color=”blue” link=”https://appraisalfoundation.sharefile.com/download.aspx?id=s1b2357c1dc74621a#” target=”_blank” font=”arial”…

  • Tax

    Hawaii’s 367,000 Percent Marginal Tax Rate—That’s not a misprint.

    Believe it or not, Hawaii’s top marginal tax rate is 367,100 percent. That makes France’s 75 percent and 100 percent tax rates seem like a downright bargain. A new paper released by the University of Hawaii at Hilo, Texas Tech University and The Institute for Business and Finance Research details how state tax laws in Hawaii create a tax cliff of epic proportions where a single extra dollar in income can trigger marginal tax rates that are nothing short of income confiscation. The paper titled, Marginal Tax Rates Around the Hawaii Itemized Deduction Cliff, details how a single dollar that…

  • Forensic Accounting - QuickRead Featured - Valuation/Appraisal

    Every Picture Tells a Story1

    Use of photography in forensic and valuation engagements The purpose of this article is to provide the CPA/expert a brief introduction to the use of photography in a valuation or forensic engagement. It is not intended to be an all-inclusive training manual in forensic photography. Criminal forensic photographic procedures may, due to the differences between civil and criminal law, be materially different.

  • QuickPress - Valuation/Appraisal

    LA Clippers Value Rises Amid Controversy

    After the media gaffe that disgraced LA Clippers owner, Donald Sterling, the mogul was fined $2.5 million by the NBA. There’s a misconception that he’s being required to sell the team as part of his lifetime ban from the sport, but that’s not actually true. NBA commissioner, Adam Silver, is asking the NBA Board of Governors to force Sterling to sell, which requires three quarters of the league’s owners to sign on. Common sense would ask that if Sterling has been banned from the league for life, how is it possible to own and operate a team within it? Wouldn’t…

  • Healthcare - QuickRead Featured

    Dissecting the Medical Practice Revenue Stream—Part 2

    Four things valuators should know about medical claims and coding In this second installment of his review of medical claims coding, Mr. Moffatt sets forth his final two examples that explain the unique circumstances of the medical practice revenue cycle that affect cash flow and how they relate to the valuation of a medical practice. Part 1 of this article was published on March 4, 2014.

  • Healthcare

    Healthcare M&A Focuses on Outpatient Facilities

    While mergers and acquisitions within the healthcare sector are expected to grow this year, the bulk of the deals will likely involve targets such as large, outpatient care centers and allied healthcare facilities, as opposed to large in-patient hospitals. This analysis comes as part of a white paper recently released by Ponder & Co. Also included were projections that nonprofit institutions will be the more popular target, with a renewed emphasis on combining regional systems and another tough year for the traditional, community hospital. You can get the full details at the link below. [button color=”blue” link=”http://www.ponderco.com/downloads/Ponder-MA-White-Paper-Q1-2014.pdf” target=”_blank” font=”arial” align=”left”]Read…

  • Valuation/Appraisal

    Damodaran Data Page Available

    Professor, Aswath Damodaran, of the NYU Stern School of Business has released his 2014 Data Page online. Updated annually and exhaustively researched, the data page offers in-depth information on 41,000 companies in 131 worldwide markets, including measures of operation, leverage, pricing, equity risk premiums and country risk. One of the major changes to this year’s data page was the switch from Value Line to Morningstar, Bloomberg and Capital IQ for all U.S. firms. You can review the data page at the link below. [button color=”blue” link=”http://people.stern.nyu.edu/adamodar/New_Home_Page/data.html” target=”_blank” font=”arial” align=”left”]Read Full Article[/button]