• QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Grade Me: A 30-Minute Framework for Reviewing Valuation Reports

    August 26, 2026

    The concept behind my “Grade Me” framework is straightforward: Valuation professionals can improve report quality by reviewing their work from the perspective of an informed reader who does not have the preparer’s background knowledge. A structured 30-minute review can identify issues before they become client concerns or litigation problems. Every valuation report is eventually reviewed by someone other than the person who prepared it. The reviewer may be a firm partner, a client, opposing counsel, a trier of fact, a regulator, a credentialing organization, or another valuation professional. Each reviewer approaches the report with a different perspective, but all are…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    The Enterprise-to-Equity Bridge: Avoiding Double Counts and Omissions in Business Valuation

    August 26, 2026

    Errors in the enterprise-to-equity bridge may cause cash, debt, working capital, or non-operating assets to be counted twice, omitted entirely, or treated inconsistently among valuation approaches. These errors can be particularly significant in litigation and marital dissolution matters, where the ultimate question is generally the value of a specific ownership interest rather than only the value of the company’s operations. A business valuation may employ an appropriate methodology, a reasonable benefit stream, and a supportable discount rate or market multiple, yet still arrive at an incorrect conclusion of equity value. One of the most common reasons is an error in…

  • Artificial Intelligence - Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story

    Using AI to Prepare a Personal Spending Analysis for Litigation: Potential Cost Reduction

    August 17, 2026

    Parties to litigation proceedings are often required to disclose their personal spending. The information provided to the Court may require certification that the information is complete, true, and accurate under penalty of perjury, yet often based, at least in part, on estimates. This article shows how a few simple steps can achieve the desired results without the costs, time, or guesswork. Parties to litigation proceedings are often required to disclose their personal spending. The information provided to the Court may require certification that the information is complete, true, and accurate under penalty of perjury, yet often based, at least in…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Gray Divorce: A Collaborative Approach to Supporting Clients Through Later-Life Transitions

    August 17, 2026

    Gray divorce demands genuine collaboration among professionals who each hold a distinct piece of the client’s financial and legal picture. When these professionals operate in silos, critical details fall through the cracks. Conversely, when the team functions as a cohesive unit, clients are far better positioned to reach divorce settlements that are not only legally sound, but financially sustainable. The author shares the importance of embracing a collaborative approach for these more mature clients. Gray divorce, generally defined as a divorce at age 50 or later, has become one of the most consequential and complex transitions clients bring to their…

  • Financial Forensics - QuickRead Top Story

    26 Years of Internet Crime Reports: Crypto and Warnings in the Weirdness (Part II of II)

    August 12, 2026

    The Internet Crime Complaint Center has issued reports over the past 26 years that detail the types of crimes reported involving the use of the internet. Despite the sense that crime is random and unpredictable, the author finds that is not the case and, in this article, sets forth the commonalities missed. Read Part I here. The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reports did not first encounter cryptocurrency as a mature asset class. Cryptocurrency appeared as a warning sign, denoted with a simple “various payments” summary as a payment mechanism for ransomware and later appearing inside other crime types. Long…

  • Practice Management - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Build or Buy? Is It Time to Convert to Valuation Software in the Age of AI?

    August 12, 2026

    Few issues generate more spirited conversation among valuation practitioners than the debate over whether to use Excel or a valuation software package. The author opines that the decision today is not a simple build-versus-buy issue. The issue is how to combine specialized business valuation software with requisite integrated databases and supervised AI tools for the end-user’s and clients’ benefit. Few issues generate more spirited conversation among valuation practitioners than the debate over whether to use Excel or a valuation software package. After all, many practitioners have invested hundreds, or thousands, of hours developing their own spreadsheets, templates, linked databases, and…

  • Financial Forensics - Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story

    26 Years of Internet Crime Reports: From Beanie Babies to Investment Scams (Part I of II)

    August 5, 2026

    Internet fraud continues to thrive. In this article, the author summarizes the types of fraud and how online fraud will continue to evolve, and what readers can do to recognize what form fraud will take. When the FBI’s Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC, later renamed to IC3) first opened its doors in May 2000, it took in a mere 20,014 complaints in the first partial year of operation.[1] A quarter-century later, it has taken in more than 9 million complaints, with $11.366 billion in cryptocurrency related losses alone in a single year.[2] These annual reports are a chronicle of growing…

  • Forensic Accounting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    The Number That Lies: Recognizing Valuation Manipulation as Fraud

    August 5, 2026

    A business valuation is one of the most manipulation-friendly disciplines in professional services. The stakes are high and because of this, someone, somewhere, could find themselves motivated to move the number. For the valuation expert, understanding where legitimate (and permissible) advocacy ends, and intentional distortion begins is not simply an academic exercise. It is a professional survival skill, and increasingly, a legal one. The author discusses four schemes where fraud may occur and describes the red flags professionals need to recognize to identify fraud. The Setup The valuation was delivered to the client and the business appeared healthy. The revenue…