Part I of III This is Part I of a three-part series discussing the basic components of a professional liability lawsuit brought against an accounting firm and its partners; and the factors a firm’s managing partner should consider before and during this type of litigation for utilizing applicable insurance coverage, maximizing effectiveness of defense and, where possible, bringing the controversy to conclus ...

What to Ask and Look for When You Need a Forensic Expert In today’s legal environment, it is not sufficient to present unsubstantiated evidence. Many subject matter experts do not properly substantiate their findings. When hiring a subject matter expert, careful screening is crucial to choose an expert with superior skills and credibility. This article presents methodologies by which you can perform proper ...

When Employees Ask for Promotions Before They're Ready Eager, ambitious employees sometimes ask for promotions or raises before they are ready.  Rebecca Knight discuses that managers should handle these requests with transparency and should coach their employees to help them reach the next level. To read the full article in the Harvard Business Review, click: What to Do When Your Employee Asks for a Raise T ...

Life Insurance Loan Can Have Tax Consequences When life insurance is surrendered or lapses, its remaining value is used to repay any loans that have been taken out on the policy—a situation that can create unexpectedly large tax bills, as the taxable gain on the policy is calculated without considering the presence of the loan.  Michael Kitces explains that clients can avoid this "tax bomb" by holding on to ...

Corporate finance does not need to be a mystery, states Travis Harms, Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group lead.  The goal of this whitepaper is to give directors and shareholders a vocabulary and conceptual framework for thinking about strategic corporate finance decisions, allowing them to bring their perspectives and expertise to the discussion. To read the full article in Mercer Capital' ...

Recognize and Gain the Competitive Advantage Firms in the accounting and financial consulting arena tend to have more commonalities with each other than differences. In many cases, their services, processes, and even benefits are essentially the same. Fortunately, there is a proven way for your firm to develop a strong differentiation strategy—and it is based on the expertise your people already have. In th ...

“I Should Have Known!” When you hear the news that someone was just arrested for committing fraud at their work, it is usually accompanied by fellow employees or managers saying one of two things. Either, “I never thought they were capable of stealing” or “I should have seen it coming.” Why do employers say that they “should have known” and how exactly is it that they should have known? In my experience, th ...

No matter what your fees are, there’s always the worry that you’re either too expensive and giving up work, or too cheap and leaving money on the table. Ingrid Case explains how these four questions can help you determine whether to give yourself a cut—or a raise. To read the full article in FinancialPlanning, click: Should I…Raise my Fees? ...

Federal Agencies Plan Amendments to Form 5500 Employee benefit plans would face new reporting requirements under extensive changes to Form 5500, Annual Return/Report of Employee Benefit Plan, proposed by the federal government last month. The federal agencies are also proposing to require all group health plans to file Form 5500 along with a new Schedule J. Sally P. Schreiber, Tax Adviser senior editor, exp ...

Wall Street generally does not like MOEs unless the benefits are utterly obvious and/or one or both parties had no other path to create shareholder value. In some instances, MOEs may be an intermediate step to a larger transaction that unlocks value. Jeff Davis, managing director of Mercer Capital’s Financial Institutions Group, explains. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog ...

Valuation and Planning Impacts This article outlines the major provisions of the proposed regulations. If the proposed regulations are adopted in their current form, they only apply to transfers made after the final regulations are promulgated, and the most pervasive provisions of the proposed regulations, apply only to transfers made at least thirty days after the restrictions become final. ...

Can Effect the Outcome of a Case One of the most critical decisions practicing attorneys have to face is the selection of a forensic accountant. The specialized training and expertise of forensic accountants and the role they play, either as consultants or as expert witnesses, can make the difference in the final outcome of a case. However, it is critical that the right person with the right expertise, trai ...

Many Americans Suffer From Financial Anxiety Americans are becoming steadily more worried about their finances, and 85% of those participating in a recent Northwestern Mutual study said they are experiencing some kind of financial anxiety, explains Sean Williams.  About two-thirds of those surveyed said the problem has reached the point that anxiety is hurting their health. To read the full article in The M ...

Worker Classification in the Gig Economy With one-third or more of Americans working as freelancers, the traditional factors for classifying workers as employees or independent contractors are becoming obsolete.  Here's what tax practitioners need to know about changing employment relationships in the gig economy. To read the full article in The Tax Adviser, click: Worker Classification and the Evolving Ser ...

Part 1 of this series offered an overview of observed transaction premium data (from the 2016 Mergerstat Review) for acquisitions of public companies.  That post also deliberated on one of five common avenues to incremental economic benefits that motivate market participants to transact.  Part 2 walks through the four remaining variations on the incremental economic benefits theme, and offers some concludin ...

Add Value and Differentiate Your Business Valuation Practice In this article, Dr. Sheeler issues a personal challenge to credentialed business valuation professionals. Dr. Sheeler challenges credentialed professionals to be more introspective and become more relevant in a market where commoditization does not enable clients and end users to understand the value professionals can and should bring. Dr. Sheele ...

Income of Partners and Owners of Pass-through Entities (Part II of II) This is the second part of a two-part article where the author discusses the methodology for assessing the lost earning capacity of a self-employed person. This article provides an overview for analyzing the lost earning capacity of the self-employed and discusses why this category of work provides unique assessment situations. In this s ...

What's the Best Way to Manage Big Data? Companies disagree about whether chief financial officers, chief information officers or other individuals should be in charge of big data analysis, according to a report by Mu Sigma.  Forty-four percent of respondents say they use a centralized approach to big data management, but some companies use an individual or federated model.  James Bourne explains. To read th ...

Retired CPAs Share Retirement Advice The transition into retirement can be challenging for CPAs who have grown accustomed to the daily routine and demands associated with the accounting profession.  Maria L. Murphy, freelance writer, discusses seven tips from accountants who have successfully transitioned for making the most of life after work. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: ...

The consistent theme of the Appraisal Foundation’s exposure draft The Measurement and Application of Market Participant Acquisition Premiums is that acquirers do not value control for its own sake, but rather for the tangible economic benefits that can be achieved by the exercise of control.  Travis W. Harms, Mercer Capital Financial Reporting Valuation Group lead, explains the analyses and discusses his vi ...