A now record-setting run of U.S. economic growth enters its 121st month on Monday, sustained by a decade of low interest rates and massive Federal Reserve intervention that helped put 22 million people back to work. To read the full article in Reuters, click: As U.S. Expansion Notches Record, Recovery May Have Only Just Begun. ...

The Excess Earnings Capitalization Rate This article presents a method for calculating the capitalization rate for excess earnings. The good news is that this capitalization rate can be calculated. The bad news is that with the calculated excess earnings capitalization rate, the excess earnings method gives the same value as the single period capitalization method under the Income Approach, i.e., the excess ...

One Has Traction with Prospects, the Other Does Not Any product/service can almost always be viewed as either a vitamin or a painkiller. Which do you (or your firm) offer? Any product/service can almost always be viewed as either a vitamin or a painkiller. Which do you (or your firm) offer? BVFLS Services Can be Either Vitamins or Painkillers What’s the difference? Kind of obvious, but vitamins: Are conditi ...

Construction companies are developing an AI system that predicts worksite injuries—an example of the growing use of workplace surveillance. To read the full article in MIT Technology Review, click: Artificial Intelligence Sees Construction Site Accidents Before They Happen. ...

Recent performance has favored passive investing. But a look at the big picture shows how performance moves in cycles, and reveals why active may soon pull ahead. To read the full article in Hartford Funds, click: The Question is Active or Passive Investing. The Answer is Yes. ...

Well over half say they would back Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s plan to tax those with more than $50 million in assets, a survey finds. To read the full article in CNBC, click: Millionaires Support Proposed Tax on Large Wealth: Tax Strategy Scan. ...

Privately Held Promissory Notes How should a privately held promissory note be valued? In this article Bruce Johnson answers this question. Bruce notes that the key issues to consider when valuing a privately held promissory note are the interest rate, amortization term, collateral, payment history, covenants and marketability of the note being valued. Once this information is assessed, an appraiser can con ...

an Effective Elevator Pitch Professionals in the accounting, valuation, and finance sectors frequently struggle with a deceptively simple task: describing in a few words what their firm does and how it stands apart from the competition. If you, the reader, have experienced this difficulty, you can make it easier on yourself by having a thoughtful and concise elevator pitch ready to deploy when the opportuni ...

Strong management goes beyond ethical behavior, efficiency, and carrying out company strategy—even though each of those is important. Managers are a key reason that employees show up to work engaged or not. Managers can live their values, set clear expectations on schedules, engage in two-way communication, and more. To read the full article in Journal of Accountancy, click: Memo to Managers: Practice What ...

Firms are spending plenty on tech but are skimping when it comes to training their people to recognize an incoming attack. To read the full article in Financial Planning, click: The Cybersecurity Defense Advisors Forget. ...

The world looked very different in 1943, when the psychologist Abraham Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” model was first published. The world was just in the early stages of realizing the potential of computing power, which codebreakers would use to help bring an end to the world war. Fast forward to 2019, and we stand on the brink of another seismic shift: the Fourth Industrial Revolution. Amid a picture of fu ...

Technology (Part V of V) Over the past decade, there has been a rapid adoption of technological innovations in the U.S., which has fundamentally changed the healthcare delivery system, improving the quality of patient care, as well as the efficiency of healthcare processes and practices. Research indicates that implementation of healthcare information technology (HIT) may lead to improved efficiency and qua ...

Applicable to Real Estate Holding Companies (Part II of II) In this second of a two-part series published in QuickRead August 01, 2019, the author discusses valuation discounts applicable to real estate holding companies and the incremental adjustments in the valuation of partial, non-controlling interests. After discussing the application of a minority discount or discount for lack of control (DLOC) in the ...

In the most recent developer release of Apple's iOS 13 there is a feature called FaceTime Attention Correction that creates the impression that a user is staring directly at their device's camera. It is not entirely clear how this effect is achieved, but it is possible that Apple is applying real-time video techniques to distort images so that eye-contact between callers on video is improved. To read the fu ...

About a decade ago, Harriet and Jeffrey Taniyama went in search of a financial planner "just to make sure we were headed in the right direction" with respect to retirement, Harriet Taniyama says. The one they found, a former FINRA-licensed advisor named Christopher Dougherty in San Diego, persuaded them that they not only had enough money to retire but also to invest in his own ventures, including an organi ...

Many of the world’s biggest companies, from Silicon Valley tech firms to large European banks, are bracing for the prospect that climate change could substantially affect their bottom lines within the next five years, according to a new analysis of corporate disclosures. To read the full article in The New York Times, click: Companies See Climate Change Hitting Their Bottom Lines in the Next Five Years. ...

Regulatory Issues (Part IV of V) As discussed in the first installment of this five-part series, rural health clinics (RHCs) are statutorily-created entities, established via the Rural Health Clinic Service Act of 1977. These providers face a range of federal and state legal and regulatory constraints, which affect their formation, operation, and transactions. This installment will discuss two important reg ...

How to Avoid Romance of the Deal through Cold-Hearted Diligence This paper attempts to address these issues while presenting summary critical considerations that can and do mitigate the likelihood of unintended consequences and deals that fail to deliver. Specifically, it will speak to how advisors and buyers can verify and substantiate the most critical and yet intangible value drivers in a deal. Recently, ...

Under a FINRA proposal, firms with histories of misconduct would be required to set aside funds for anticipated arbitration awards. To read the full article in Financial Planning, click: New Rules for Firms that Hire Problematic Brokers. ...

Credentialed authorities are comically bad at predicting the future.  But reliable forecasting is possible. To read the full article in The Atlantic, click: The Peculiar Blindness of Experts. ...