In spite of the current economic climate, a recent survey from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) showed that 54 percent of valuation professionals expected a 10 to 50 percent increase in the demand for their services over the next two to five years. These results are part of the 2014 AICPA Survey on International Trends in Forensic and Valuation Services. Forensic experts were even more optimist ...

  Nathan J. Mueller embezzled $8.5 million in barely four years from financial giant, ING through a series of corporate incompetence, “happy” accidents and missteps inside the company. His case is unique in the amount of money he stole and the length of time it went undetected. The breach of controls at ING was astonishing, but not nearly as incredible as hearing Mueller describe how easy it was in his ...

Know your data! Understanding the data that is applied in an analysis is important. Data that relies on standard industrial classification (SIC) codes can be misleading for industries that have changed—or did not exist—in 1987. As business models and industries evolve, it pays, as Bob Bridges explains in this article, to do a closer analysis. ...

Handling lawyers who coax you to work from their summary of the evidence Expert witnesses have an ethical responsibility, as well as a business imperative, to ensure they review the actual evidence that supports their analyses. Because expert witness testimony can make or break litigation outcomes, consultants cannot risk having their testimony excluded by the trial judge or discredited by the jury. ...

  The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued two standards updates with the intention of simplifying the measurement of inventory and eliminating the requirement for extraordinary items. Inventory (Topic 330): Simplifying the Measurement of Inventory would eliminate existing requirements to consider the replacement cost of inventory and the net realizable value of inventory less an appr ...

  Eventually, everyone who works with or around money professionally comes across a particular transaction that just doesn’t look right. Lots of these eyebrow raisers turn out to be false alarms, and some even have odd, albeit legitimate and legal explanations. Still, there are those that defy explanation of any kind. If you’re not in the business of looking for fraud on a daily basis, will you be able ...

Three key elements of fraud risk assessment Organizations that have not performed a fraud risk assessment may be two-thirds more likely to suffer a fraud-related event, states KPMG-endowed fraud and forensic accounting professor Larry Crumbley. Learn the three key elements that a company’s fraud risk assessment should address. ...

The valuation of customer relationships can be somewhat of a gray area for valuators. In many cases, the common valuation methodologies don’t apply, and the professional neglects to consider whether the determined value is consistent with a market participant’s perspective. While it’s become routine to assume customer relationships are a primary asset, this is not the case across all industries. In a short, ...

  The PCAOB recently issued Auditing Standard (AS) No. 18, Related Parties to strengthen auditor performance in the high-risk areas of significant unusual transactions and financial relationships, and transactions with executive officers. The change comes as the result of an internal review where the PCAOB felt the existing protocol did not contain sufficient procedures and was not properly risk-based. ...

Calculation engagements require development standards A proper calculation engagement requires planning, mutually agreed upon procedures, and adherence to professional standards. Otherwise, the valuation analyst and firm risk damaging their good name and reputation. ...

Reconciling compliance with multi-agency valuation standards While standards exist to uphold the integrity of business valuation, multi-credentialed professionals can face a daunting task when trying to compare and comply with all guidelines across the spectrum of issuing agencies. This article seeks to root out possible conflicts and create clarity among standards so valuators may perform with less effort ...

  According to a recent article in The Appraisal Journal, industry sales among the 616,098 restaurants in the U.S. totaled $425.6 billion in 2012. Chain restaurants make up nearly 45% of the industry population in the U.S., and at a growth rate of 2.2% are expected to overtake independent establishments by 2023. Between 2010 and 2012, 22,000 restaurants were sold for a total of almost $11 billion. The ...

When the usual approaches won’t work Technology and innovation expert and professor, Tim Swift, proposes an alternative to the traditional Market, Income, and Cost approaches to valuing a patent portfolio. ...

Deviations for biased cash flows Cash flows vary, and traditional approaches need to take into consideration the downside or cessation probability; otherwise, the value of the entity is overstated. Setting the probabilities of "downside" and "cessation" risk drives the appraiser's efforts in adjusting for biased cash flows. This article presents an approach that can be used to adjust the cash flow. ...

A Fitch Ratings report has shared serious doubts that the practice principles of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) would be fully implemented in the U.S. anytime in the near future, as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) turns colder on the idea. Three sticking points to the merger of the methods remain financial instruments, insurance and leasing. Financial products with U. ...

  In case you missed it, Z. Christopher Mercer, ASA, CFA, ABAR, founder and CEO of Mercer Capital, was the keynote speaker at the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML) and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) 2014 bi-annual joint conference this year. His presentation concerned The Five Really Big Valuation Issues. They included: 1.) discount rates, 2.) control premiums and minority interest ...

Think like an investor, not an accountant! If fair market value is to determine investor expectations and equity risk; then why do these factors receive limited or no consideration when opining on the level of impairments (investor concessions) ubiquitously referred to ask discounts? This article addresses the business risks associated with asset-holding companies' equity that should be considered and repor ...

Ways to prevent costly misunderstandings One of the most important documents valuation, forensics, and litigation support experts produce is the engagement letter. Just as you painstakingly explain what your firm plans to do, it’s also imperative to explain what the client needs to do. ...

  Reimbursements from insurers, made to healthcare facilities for the care they administer, are an essential part of the valuation of hospitals, clinics, outpatient care centers and other facilities. As if that exchange wasn’t complicated enough, it’s about to go through another transition that very well may impact the valuation of all healthcare institutions. According to a new white paper released by ...

  Do shareholders and boards have a reason to be concerned when a CEO separates or gets divorced? This is the question being asked in a fascinating white paper titled, Separation Anxiety: The impact of divorce on shareholders by David F. Larcker, Allan L. McCall and Brian Tayar of Stanford University Graduate Business School. The paper is part of the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford Uni ...