The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) recently sent a letter to the IRS calling a proposed “voluntary” certification program for unenrolled tax return preparers “unlawful and improper”. In a recent ruling, Loving, No. 13-5061 (D.C. Cir. 2/11/14), it was held that the IRS does not have the statutory authority to regulate tax return preparers. In the aftermath, IRS Commissioner, John Koskinen, stated ...

CPAs can increase billings by catering to exiting baby boomer business owners. Baby boomer businesses may represent a material percentage of a CPA firm’s clientele. As a record number of these business owners begin the succession/exit process, hidden opportunities exist for firms to increase billing, if you know how to spot them. ...

Breaking down invisible value Read Part 1 here. This overview is the second half of Robert Reilly’s series that examines the types of intellectual property analyses, different standards of value that may apply in valuation as well as the alternative types of intellectual property ownership interests and the alternative terms of intellectual property ownership interests. Finally, it offers a discussion regar ...

Intellectual Property Valuation Principles—Part 1 This article examines the types of intellectual property analyses, different standards of value that may apply in valuation as well as the alternative types of intellectual property ownership interests and the alternative terms of intellectual property ownership interests. ...

Limiting the potential for abuse and delay Discovery can reduce the costs of litigation, but it can also be used to harass and delay. There are a number of things that counsel and a forensic professional can do to limit the misuse of the discovery process, save costs, and lead to a settlement. ...

  As if the general public hadn’t lost enough faith in the stock market with recent revelations of rigged deal-making that benefits only a few, a new study shows that 25 percent of all M&A deals between public companies involve some kind of insider trading. The study, conducted by McGill University and New York University, looked at informed trading activity in equity options prior to the announcem ...

A standard distinct from the fair market value standard The fair market value is distinct from the commercial reasonableness standard. The article highlights how these standards are applied in a healthcare transaction and why it is important to distinguish these standards. ...

Capitalizing on the trend The need for transition planning services has grown over the years and will continue, representing a lucrative and successful practice area for financial professionals. Harry Haigley, CVA, MBA, explains what practitioners can start doing to build their practice today. ...

You know how it goes. Some billionaire or corporate conglomerate throws out a huge bid for a business acquisition that everyone is certain is way over the top. It’s impossible such an outlandish offer could be profitable or even justified based on the subject entity. From the LA Clippers $2 billion sale to the next windfall for a teenage phenom who creates a gimmicky phone app; it seems as if one of these b ...

  The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) has beefed up its requirement for auditors to clarify the nature of relationships and transactions between related parties. The new standards were instituted by the PCAOB to counteract a number of factors that it felt were contributing to financial fraud. Ultimately, the intention is to help companies avoid financial failure and reduce harm to inv ...

Benchmarking the firm’s performance We all know financial ratios are a barometer of the health of a company. Now, let's help our client's unleash the power of these ratios to improve their businesses. Here's how. ...

Compensation for PCPs is increasing The increasing supply shortage of primary care physicians (PCPs) will have a significant impact on physician compensation. In turn; this will have an equally powerful effect on the valuation of PCP practices. ...

  More than a decade in the making, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have released a converged standard on revenue recognition. Titled, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers”, the standard is designed to enhance the process of revenue reporting and improve comparability in financial statements among corporations using IFRS and U.S. ...

  In a windfall for the IRS, 77,000 foreign banks have turned over data on American account holders as part of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The U.S. devised tax law with global reach requires all foreign banks to submit full data on all American accounts with a balance of $50,000 or more. Financial institutions that are non-compliant risk being frozen out of U.S. markets and a 30 per ...

  NACVA and the CTI are founded on excellence, superior quality, and the spirit of pioneering. We have a rich history of partnering with visionary leaders across all spectrums of the accounting and financial consulting professions regardless of affiliation with NACVA and the CTI. Simply put, we want the best of the best among our group of subject matter experts and leaders. We are thrilled to recognize ...

What discount rate should you use? Economic damages in litigation must be reduced to present day dollar values to avoid over-compensating the Plaintiff for harm caused by the defendant. This article explains present value theory in simple terms and addresses different methodologies used in reducing future economic damages to a present day dollar value. ...

A good start for a forensic accounting engagement Statistical data is commonly presented in litigation reports. The data provides valuable information to test the hypothesis. This article provides an introduction of how some statistical techniques that are readily available can be used in practice. ...

  Barely six months into 2014, General Motors (GM) has recalled more vehicles than it sold in the five years since it filed for bankruptcy. In February alone, 2.6 million vehicles were recalled for an ignition problem that’s been attributed to at least 13 deaths. Even so, the GM stock price has remained completely neutral since April. How is the stock valuation immune to such a corporate and public rel ...

The Expert’s Role The article offers the comments of one expert on how the courts (judges) could improve the end process. ...

Anticipating questions allows us to think through the best ways to phrase our responses Questions about an expert’s skills and work can be phrased in ways that make it difficult to answer accurately on the spot, but advance preparation can smooth the process. ...