How to Form a Sound College-Savings Plan Early preparation is key for handling children's college expenses.  This article offers three pieces of advice for families, regardless of where they are in the savings process.  Kelli Grant, personal finance and consumer spending reporter, offers some wise and helpful tips. To read the full article in CNBC, click: 3 Tricks to Crush College Planning and Save Big. ...

Practices usually associated with startups have helped these seven employers of CPAs establish welcoming cultures and retain employees.  From virtual workplaces to vacation stipends to having employees set their own hours, these innovative practices are helping employers drive productivity.  Lea Hart, AICPA associate editor, explains. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: Innovation ...

Ascertaining the Financial Status of a Business in a Few Quick Glances The 60-Second Method is a system of ascertaining the financial status of a business or other entity in a few quick glances. It is a training tool that can be used to demonstrate how financial analysis works, or instruct decision-makers beginning to read and understand financial statement content. ...

New rules from the FASB regarding how entities will have to measure certain equity investments  may lead to increased earnings volatility and additional fair value complexities.  Lucas Parris, senior member of Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, discusses five things to know about the new rules and some questions to consider. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting ...

An unfamiliar number, an unnatural pause after you say hello…another day, another irritating robocall.  If it feels as if your cellphone has increasingly been flooded with them, you’re right.  Christopher Mele explains. To read the full article in The New York Times, click: Robocalls Flooding Your Cellphone?  Here’s How to Stop Them. ...

Learn the formulas, functions, and techniques that enable efficient Benford analysis of data sets.  J. Carlton Collins, Journal of Accountancy contributing editor, looks into this issue and provides some very useful tips and insights. To read the full article in JofA, click: Using Excel and Benford’s Law to Detect Fraud. ...

The Objective and Subjective Tests Used to Determine Foreseeability To recover lost profits in a commercial damages case, three standards must be met. They are proximate cause, foreseeability, and reasonable certainty. Of these three, foreseeability is the lost profits standard in which a financial expert will have the least involvement. But this does not mean the expert’s work would not benefit the trier-o ...

Always Want More Cowbell The More Cowbell skit can be repurposed to explain debates over the efficient market hypothesis. Many proponents of the efficient market hypothesis may initially find it annoying that nonbelievers do not share their view. However, believers’ faith in the efficient market hypothesis is dependent on nonbelievers continuing to try, but inevitably failing, to ‘beat the market.’ The effi ...

Views Developed by an Appraiser Working with Business Brokers to Assess FMV Business appraisers typically assume that Price/Revenue, Price/SDE, Price/EBITDA and Price/EBIT, etc., are independent valuation methods. But, are they independent? This article shares my views on this subject matter and why they will lead to different conclusions of value. ...

It seems like it was just last year when we mused if non-GAAP earnings measurements were becoming a permanent fixture of the market.  How quickly the times change.  Samantha Albert, senior financial analyst with Mercer Capital, explains. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: Compensating for Something: Facebook’s GAAP Change. This article is republished from Mercer Ca ...

The statute of limitation defines the time within which the IRS may initiate an audit of a tax return.  According to Sec. 6501(a), the statute of limitation for income tax returns is three years from the filing date of the return or the due date if the return is filed early.  Marilyn Young discusses the issue. To read the full article in The Tax Adviser, click: The Statute of Limitation for Net Operating Lo ...

First things first: Get out of bed.  Once you've accomplished this, you're ready for five more tips that can help you minimize interruptions, maximize your time, and make the most of working from home. To read the full article in AICPA Insights, click: 5 Tips to Make Working from Home Successful. ...

Unsystematic Risk Premia in Privately Held Companies How does a valuation professional quantify and defend the unsystematic risk premia (URP)? Is the latter a factor that helps explain why CAPM is less frequently used valuing a privately held company? As for Total Beta, is that any better than the use of Beta? In this article, the author suggests if one accepts that imperfect diversification (ID) explains t ...

of Accounting and Financial Services Firms In this article, Dr. Frederiksen discusses five key findings derived from a Hinge Marketing Survey of accounting and financial services firms. The findings provide actionable steps and an opportunity for firms serving in the industry to grow. ...

Market sentiment seems to oscillate between a preference for growth and a desire for profitability now.  Travis Harms, Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group lead, discusses the challenges of managing and investing in early-stage companies. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: If it was Easy, We’d all be Rich. This article is republished from Mercer Cap ...

We mentally deposit money in buckets of current income, current assets, and future income.  This instinctive categorization explains the popularity of so-called bucketing strategies for retirement income, whether segmented by time or type of spending.  Michael Kitces, contributing writer for Financial Planning, explains how advisers can help overcome their irrational expectations. To read the full article i ...

Why Leaders Need to Identify Their Weaknesses Gaining an understanding of your weaknesses as a leader can help you take steps to compensate for them.  Working with mentors and asking for feedback from your team can allow you to identify these weaknesses.  Jayson Demers, CEO of AudienceBloom, shares some great tips. To read the full article in Entrepreneur, click: How to Recognize Your Biggest Weaknesses as ...

Its Approach to Approving Franchise Loan Applications This article summarizes changes implemented that affect SBA lending in the franchise context and that became effective in 2017. Within the franchise industry, financing backed by the SBA is one of the most important sources of funding for franchisees who wish to establish or grow a franchise. However, since the beginning of 2017, SBA funding within the f ...

Clinical Services (Part I of IV) In the March/April 2017 issue of The Value Examiner, the authors gave a detailed description of how clinical services for physicians can be calculated. QuickRead is pleased to present an overview of this series, which will be presented in four parts. Please look for the more detailed analysis in The Value Examiner. ...

In an age of rapid technological change, the traditional corporate R&D process just won’t cut it.  Bureaucracy and slow decision making are impediments to a company’s ability to innovate and the speed of execution.  As younger companies like Tesla are surpassing incumbents in their industries, the established players need to change to keep up.  Megan Richards, financial analyst with Mercer Capital, expl ...