The dominoes keep falling—allegations of sexual harassment are rampant.  Who is next?  The wounds are open, and it is time to start healing.  Before we can do that, though, we have to wonder why we have not seen more reports out of the wealth management industry recently.  In part, I believe it is because our male-heavy finance culture went through a slew of sexual harassment cases in the 90’s, including th ...

Provides Independent Validation of Indicated Values Newly-minted valuation analysts may question the reasonableness of their conclusion of value. That is natural. In this article, the author introduces readers to the Hypothetical Willing Buyer-Willing Seller Sanity Check Model. This is a model developed by the author in connection with valuation of a 100% controlling interest. ...

Issues Using Transactional Databases and whether there is a Florida Effect that Biases the Transaction Multiplies In this article, the author discusses issues that impact the transaction multiples. He warns appraisers that it is dangerous to assume that the data offered by the transactional databases is consistent from transaction to transaction and, therefore, can be combined into a single sample and then ...

Wealth management firms of all sizes are trying to streamline their operations to benefit clients, and mobile is a prime example, according to the recent Financial Planning Tech Survey.  Forty percent of respondents cited mobile apps as a potential difference maker for the industry.  This article will cite which technologies offer the most promise to advisors, and which could fall by the wayside. To read th ...

Members of the accounting profession are being challenged to gain a deep understanding of how ledger technology and digital currencies work.  As the use cases for blockchain multiply, accountants and auditors need to consider how the existing accounting and auditing rules relate to distributed ledger technology. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: Blockchain Considerations for Man ...

A financial planner who admitted to defrauding his client out of nearly $1 million through a signature-forging scheme received a prison sentence of four-and-a-half years.  William P. Carlson Jr. pleaded guilty to mail fraud in the U.S. District Court in Chicago and agreed to pay restitution of $911,000 in connection with the five-year scam. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Advisor Gets ...

Research Says “No” In any business sector, one of the biggest challenges is to differentiate oneself. For a variety of reasons, this is especially difficult in the accounting and valuation and appraisal field, where many firms struggle to find ways to stand out. In fact, most firms end up making essentially the same claims about what makes them different. In this article, Dr. Frederiksen discusses his findi ...

Opportunities for Valuation Pros The widespread destruction left in the path of Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria provides ample ground and opportunities for CVA professionals to assist the public. In this article, the author, a CVA, details those opportunities. ...

Accounting Standards Update 2016-01 has generally flown under the radar since it was released almost two years ago.  However, this accounting update has the potential to significantly affect financial reporting by public and private companies with minority equity investments—including corporate entities with a portfolio of venture capital investments.  This whitepaper provides an overview of the accounting ...

Retirees with multiple retirement accounts are advised to have a tax-efficient way of tapping into these accounts to minimize the tax bite, writes Morningstar's Christine Benz.  Retirees who have reached the age of 70 1/2 should take required minimum distributions from tax-deferred accounts, while those who are younger should draw from their taxable accounts, selling assets with the highest cost basis first ...

Is there an inexpensive, easy-to-use, third-party add-on solution for achieving drillable financial statements when your small business accounting system does not offer that functionality? To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: Accounting and ERP Systems: A Look Inside Drillable Financial Statements. ...