The Opportunity for Value Growth Services How can one differentiate oneself? Scale production or services? Whether you’re an M&A advisor, a business valuator, a CPA, a transition planner, or a turnaround consultant, you would probably be very successful if you could consistently execute this simple growth strategy. For most people, the challenges of differentiating and scaling often seem to prevent succ ...

How can your firm present different pricing options to customers, decide which pricing model is the best to use, and overcome pricing objections?  Chris Baysden, for the Journal of Accountancy®, sits down with Ron Baker for this sixth in a series of Q&A sessions. To find out more on the Journal of Accountancy article, click: How to present your prices to customers. ...

The SEC has proposed new rules and requirements for certain types of incentive-based executive compensation.  Lucas M. Parris, Senior Member of Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, explains the rules and how they would apply. To read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: New Rules Aim to Claw Back Incentive-Based Pay.  This article is ...

“The IRS issued final regulations on determining partners’ distributive shares of partnership items when a partner’s interest varies during the partnership’s tax year.”  Sally P. Schreiber, a senior editor for the Journal of Accountancy®, explains the exceptions and methods the proposed regulation influences. To find out more on The Tax Adviser® article, click: Regulations Determine Partnership Distributive ...

Guidance on How to Calculate the Built-in Capital Gains Tax?! Estate of Richmond is well known among experienced valuation professionals for at least two reasons. First, the U.S. Tax Court was critical of the experts’ lack of credentials and the fact that the estate submitted an unsigned, marked-up report with the 706. Second, the U.S. Tax Court did not allow a 100 percent BICG tax reduction. Rather, the Co ...

And How to Become One We all know their names. They’re the industry stars that headline conferences and write the definitive books in their fields. Sometimes their names are known beyond their industries and they bring acclaim to their firms. We call these individuals Visible ExpertsSM, and it has become increasingly evident that they are changing the way professional services are purchased and understood. ...

Five of the 10 Leading Misconceptions (Part I of II) The following discussion summarizes and responds to common misconceptions that many analysts have with regard to the valuation of healthcare entity property and/or services transfers. These analyst misconceptions typically involve a misunderstanding of one or more of the relevant regulatory provisions. These analyst misconceptions typically relate to an e ...

What is the predicted earnings and revenue outlook?  Mark Fahey, CNBC Data Journalist, interviews some chief financial officers for their thoughts and insight and what we should prepare for. Find out more on the CNBC article, click: CFOs: This year is going to be bad. ...

The SEC has proposed new rules and amendments that are more stringent and would alter requirements.  Mary Grace McQuiston, Senior Financial Analyst with Mercer Capital, offers insights and explores some of the ramifications these changes could bring. Read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting article, Rules for the Modern Investment Manager.  This article is repub ...

Today’s competitive market helps to create the attraction and real possibility of employee mobility.  James Pooley, author of Secrets: Managing Information Assets in the Age of Cyberespionage (Verus Press 2015), shares nine insightful tips every employer should consider and put in practice to protect themselves and their companies. Find out more on the RIA Biz article, click: Ways to ensure your firm’s secr ...

How do you measure the standard valuation of a golf course?  Do you take Donald Trump’s word for it?  CNBC examines Trump’s courses, what was reported, and the average for multiple golf course sales and revenue. Find out more on the CNBC article, click: Trump’s $550M golf empire may be in the weeds. ...

Are you aware of these interesting tips regarding Section 409A?  There may be more to it than you think.  Travis Harms, leading Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, answers eight questions to offer practical and comprehensive information about how Section 409A works. Read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting article, 8 Things You Need to Know Abo ...

The workplace is exciting and ever-changing.  Think about the evolution from your parent’s jobs to yours.  Landon Dowdy, Reporter for CNBC, examines how the next generation will transform it once again. Find out more on the CNBC article, click: How millennials will reshape the workplace. ...

Full Disclosure to Equitably Settle Marital Disputes An important step in the divorce process is reviewing and disclosing financial matters. In this step, both parties are typically required to prepare and sign their respective financial affidavits. In matrimonial matters, a financial affidavit represents a sworn written statement of a spouse’s assets, liabilities, income, and expenses. The information disc ...

Is There a Reason to Act Soon? Will the IRS Prevail this Time? The IRS is considering issuing proposed Section (SEC) 2704(b)(4) regulations to limit the availability of discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability. The article highlights the need to communicate with estate and gift tax attorneys that have discussed forming a FLP. While practitioners do not know what is being proposed, the §2704 l ...

The Annual Audit Does not Identify Operational and Financial Risks According to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners’ (ACFE) 2014 Report to the Nations on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, an estimated 5% of revenues each year are lost to fraud. What processes can management put in place to identify financial and operational risks? In this article, the author shares his experience and thoughts on that q ...

Benefit or Boondoggle? Is the S corporation premium defensible? In this article, the author shares her views on this matter by answering the following questions: Should there be a premium applied to the S corporation whose value has been determined relative to the publicly traded C data by which it has been valued?” Are the assumptions we use to compare S and C attributes reasonable? Do they make sense? If ...

Auto enrollment vs. signing up for a 401(k) plan on your own.  What’s the difference and can it be detrimental to your retirement saving goals?  Kelley Holland, Special Journalist to CNBC, shares some interesting, if not eye-opening, information on how employee 401(k) plans affect your future and what you should do about it. Find out more on the CNBC article, click: The downside of automatic 401(k) enrollme ...

Some very interesting implications can be noted comparing two different companies using EBITDA.  Z. Christopher Mercer, Founder and CEO of Mercer Capital, looks at how relying on EBITDA as a measure of cash flow can impact the valuation analysis conclusion if other measures are not considered. Read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting article, Public Market Views ...

The global nature of today’s economy makes the process of recovering the assets of fraud and other business crimes all the more difficult. The legal benefits provided by different jurisdictions are often used illegitimately by individuals to hide the proceeds of fraudulent activities, making it more difficult for the victims of fraud to recover their assets. In this article, Eric Rein discusses the strategi ...