Companies Struggle to Make Good Decisions With Their Data Many large businesses worldwide are struggling to gain strategic insight from the massive amount of data they gather, according to research from CGMA.  Thirty-six percent of respondents say their organizations haven't been able to manage this deluge of data.  Samantha White, senior editor for CGMA Magazine, explores the fact that many companies are u ...

Consumer Spending Returns to Growth in U.S. Core U.S. retail sales grew 0.6% in January, reversing a 0.3% decline in December, the Commerce Department said.  Also, a University of Michigan survey found that consumers are generally optimistic and say their purchasing power will benefit from low inflation.  Harriet Torry, The Wall Street Journal, explains. To read the full article in The Wall Street Journal, ...

As mutual fund flows continue to favor passive strategies, some active fund managers are beginning to look to alternative asset classes to augment returns and generate sustainable alpha.  Travis W. Harms Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group lead, discusses how the inclusion of illiquid venture capital investments in liquid funds shines a brighter spotlight on fair value measurement. To read ...

Notable 4th Quarter 2015 Cases, Part I of II Part I of this article highlights notable 4th Quarter 2015 U.S. Tax Court Cases that will be of interest to valuation practitioners and business advisors. Estate of Purdue reminds us that taxpayers need to address 2036(a) concerns and establish a non-tax reason. In addition, the case reminds us that gifting an equity or LLC interest may not qualify as a present i ...

About Valuing Pass-Through Entities ...

Clues to Finding a Missing Will Wills sometimes go missing.  Places to check include probate court, safe deposit boxes and hiding places around the home.  Also, consider contacting relatives and reviewing bank statements.  The Kansas & Missouri Estate Planning Blog reminds you that good communication can help prevent this type of problem altogether. To read the full article in WealthManagement.com, clic ...

Estate Planning When the Federal Estate Tax Doesn't Apply Even when your clients have estates that will not be subject to the federal estate tax when they die, helping them plan for the future can be complicated.  Steven G. Siegel, JD, LLM, Siegel Group, suggests ways you can help them best manage their assets To read the full article in AICPA Insights, click: Estate Planning for the 99 Percent. ...

How to Determine Household Workers' Tax Status The so-called "nanny tax," which actually applies to any form of household employment, can be complicated for clients to deal with.  A client is treated as an employer if he or she pays more than $2,000 to a household worker per year.  Whether that worker is an employee or an independent contractor depends on the nature of the business arrangement.  Karen DeMas ...

The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) definition of a business is important when it comes to classifying assets and related expenses.  However, some feel that the FASB’s current definition is ambiguous and can result in inconsistent designations of business or asset status.  Samantha Albert, senior financial analyst with Mercer Capital, explains what is currently happening with the FASB proposed ...

The Compensation-Productivity Nexus Affiliate employer agreements that do not involve designated health services may not be subject to Stark Law. However, where there is an ownership nexus—shared parent or direct subsidiary—between the hospital and affiliate employer, regulators may be able to find Stark Law violations. As governmental agencies drill down well beyond simple compensation comparatives, into t ...

Challenges and the Emergence of Peer Review Judges are often required to pick apart complicated expert analysis to assess the validity and reliability of an expert’s work when its admissibility is challenged. But in the professional domain, we would not expect a tax auditor to be able to analyze a report on macroeconomic theory. Why, then, do we ask courts to perform these analyses in fields from accounting ...

Is Recognizing Cognitive and Motivational Biases Enough? The National Academy of Sciences reported that bias is a severe problem in forensic sciences. Cognitive biases were described as, “common features of decision making, and they cannot be willed away.” Is recognizing bias, alone, sufficient to address cognitive, motivational or other biases? What can a forensic expert do to avoid the bias trap? In this ...

Economic Concerns Take a Toll on Bank Stocks Investors are selling off bank stocks amid fears that the global economy is slowing and interest rates may stay low for the foreseeable future.  Mike Cherney, Justin Baer, and Aaron Kuriloff, the WSJ, examine that bank leaders, meanwhile, say the sell-off has been overdone and don't anticipate that the U.S. will enter a recession. To read the full article in The ...

How to Safely Harness the Power of Social Media to Promote Your Firm Social media can be the best way to spread the word about your firm's offerings.  However, you may want to develop a policy to establish parameters to meet challenges and satisfy compliance requirements, all while spreading the word about what you can do for your clients.  Blane Warrene, guest blogger from MobileGuard, explains what you ne ...

Companies with Women in Leadership Roles Have Higher Profits Almost one-third of businesses studied by the Peterson Institute for International Economics had no women in the C-suite or on their corporate boards.  Jeanne Sahadi, CNN Money, discusses however, the study, which was funded by EY, also found that companies where at least 30% of executive positions were held by women tended to have higher profits. ...

2015 was a strong year for FinTech.  But, there are complexities in valuing venture-backed technology companies and the ability for market/investor sentiment to shift quickly.  So, as Jay D. Wilson, Jr., vice president and senior member of Mercer Capital’s Depository Institutions practice, explains, it is important to have a valuation professional that can assess the value of the company as well as the mark ...

Hitchner, Pratt, and Fishman Answer the Call In the past month, business valuation professionals have read reviews from a number of practitioners serving as reviewers for the Q&A Guide. All of them are positive. In this book review, we go into a little more detail and discuss what these established and accomplished business valuation professionals and leaders answer in the Q&A Guide. So, what does t ...

It is not Just About More “Clicks” How important is a website? In this article, Dr. Lee Frederiksen shares what his research reveals about high-performing websites; it is not about more clicks. ...

Businesses Where Real Estate is Integral to Operations What is the best approach to use to value a business where real estate is indispensable to operations? In this article, Dr. Brous discusses the use of the option to abandon. ...

Why Giving Employees Numerical Ratings can be Harmful Giving employees numerical ratings can cause negative emotions and can cause highly rated employees to become complacent, writes Ann Latham, founder of the consulting company Uncommon Clarity.  These grades also tend to be subjective, with some managers practicing grade inflation and others refusing to give anyone the highest possible score. To read the ...