A Practical Guide to Classify, Protect, and Monetize AI Assets (Part I of II) AI serves as a double-edged sword, presenting economic risks and the potential to disrupt and harm various industries, while simultaneously enabling significant innovation and growth across many sectors. Yet, for small and mid-sized enterprises (SMEs), the economic value of AI systems is often invisible in financial reporting, lacks legal protections, and is under-leveraged in financing and valuation efforts. In this two-part article, the authors provide a practical guide that builds on earlier articles in the AI as IP™ series and provides SMEs with a step-by-step framework…
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The Key Value of Value A complete set of financial statements also include statements of cash flows and other comprehensive income. These statements play important roles, but earnings are still used in these as the starting and dominant measure. Occasionally, the relevance of financial statements is questioned; this article is written to reaffirm their importance. Accountants have been preparing some sort of financial statements since the beginning of written records, which were developed by the Sumerians in cuneiform around 3400 BCE. A more formal, and familiar, report was developed around 1350 CE by the merchants of Venice, Genoa, and surrounding…
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A Process As valuation professionals, we sometimes serve dual roles. In this article, the author shares a step-by-step listing of his vetting process. This checklist is meant as his guide but is also used to help clients start the projection process. The guide is for anyone using a projection as a guide to a valuation analysis. Business valuators are typically provided with a client’s budget or financial projection which can help when preparing the eventual valuation. In most situations, these are optimistic and are usually intended to convince a lender or investor to make a positive decision, so it needs…
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What to Say Instead In sales, the wrong choice of words can erode trust, weaken your authority, and even cost you the project. The author shares what phrases undermine one’s expertise and offers suggestions on what to say instead. In sales (and that’s what you’re doing when you try to close a project with a prospect), every word matters. The wrong choice of words can erode trust, weaken your authority, and even cost you the project. If you’ve ever found yourself wondering why some prospects ghost you, it could be your language. So here are five words/phrases that—if you’re using—you…
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Engaging a Prospective Attorney for Referrals In this article, the author shares what “pick-up line” works best for him to get attorneys to refer work. I have a “pick-up line” that works almost every time with new referral sources, particularly attorneys. Want to hear what it is? Before I tell you, let’s first talk about what referral sources, like attorneys, are up against so you can see why this pick-up line works. The Resistance You Must Overcome You’ve heard about the know, like, and trust thing, right? That people do business with people they know, like, and trust. Look at…
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Thoughts on Thought Leadership When an attorney, banker, CPA, or wealth planner refers business to us, it can feel like we should refer business back to them. But we can’t refer to everyone because we likely don’t have that many referrals to make. The author provides insight on what it takes to become the recommended expert vis-à-vis a referral. When an attorney, banker, CPA, or wealth planner refers business to us, it can feel like we should refer business back to them (because, surely, everyone is keeping score). And we do that when we can. But we can’t refer to…
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It is About Positioning In this article, Rod Burkert reflects on the value and limits of thought leadership, how to position oneself or the firm, and ways that AI can help bolster the positioning effort. Ok. First, I am not a fan of the term “thought leadership” … or its predecessor, “content marketing” (so 2010s) … or the latest I’ve heard, “being a sage.” But let’s proceed with “thought leadership,” and if you know what I’m talking about, we are good to go! Pick a Niche, Build a Thought Leadership Platform Around It, and Own It One of the most…
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Excel and Position Yourself as the Expert There is an important difference between a service provider and an expert. In this article, Rod Burkert discusses why the differentiation is important and how to position yourself to be an expert. When it comes to the work you do, are you a service provider or an expert? Have you thought about the differences? Do you realize there are differences? Our BVFLS industry/profession/world is changing: The number of appraisers (choices) is increasing The valuation mechanics are more intricate The businesses we value are more complex The audience of leads, prospects, clients, and referral…
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It’s About Them What is the purpose of marketing? While credentials are helpful, the profession needs to reevaluate the strategies used. In this article, Rod Burkert reminds us of what the profession may consider to market the services effectively. Have you wondered why it’s getting harder to reach the leads and prospects we want to sell to and serve? What if almost everything we’ve considered to be marketing … is wrong? Let me give you a bit of history. We first complained about certain valuation organizations’ very existence. The IBA came first. Then the ASA. Apparently two organizations was all…
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It is About Solving the Dollar Value Problem How do you price your business valuation engagement? What about a litigation support engagement? In this article, Rod Burkert discusses how to value your professional engagements. Let’s talk pricing. Specifically, why do we struggle to price the value of a business valuation? Or a forensic accounting assignment? Or the mother of all unknowns, a litigation support project? What makes, say, a $10,000 engagement worth $10,000? Let me give you two reasons why it is not worth $10,000. Your Hours Worked It is not worth $10,000 if you base your price/client cost on…
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The Four Pillar Framework Rod Burkert has been spreading the gospel about BVFLS practice development since 2013. In this article, he discusses a framework that he has developed and can be used to close the gap between the practice you have and the practice you want. The people I talk to all seem to have slightly different ideas about practice development. Here is one definition from a Forbes article that I like: “Business development is the creation of long-term value for an organization from customers, markets, and relationships.” A good definition, especially at the level of a large firm. But…
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and My Productivity Doubled How can one materially improve productivity in just two weeks? In this article, the author describes how she allowed artificial intelligence to start managing her work schedule. What happened next surprised her: the author gained nearly two hours a day and doubled her weekly task completion rate. I am a single mom with two kids under three years old. I work full-time as a forensic accountant and economic damages analyst. I also own several rental properties—most of which are under construction at any given time—and I serve as my own general contractor. That means I juggle…
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Self-reflection and the Engagement Process The buying process begins when a prospect or a referral source considers you for a new engagement, or when a client considers you for a repeat performance. In this article, Rod Burkert reflects on this aspect of the engagement process. The buying process begins when a prospect or a referral source considers you for a new engagement, or when a client considers you for a repeat performance. And it almost always begins with the same question (or thought) from the buyer: What do I get by hiring you? So, what does that prospect, referral source,…
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Take Up an Informed Contrarian View to Disrupt the Business Valuation Profession What frustrates you about our industry? Do you think your prospects, clients, and referral sources might feel the same way? What if you took a stand? What if you stood out by promising something different than the standard operating procedures your competitors follow? What frustrates you about our industry? There must be something you don’t like about why or how we do what we do. Do you think your prospects, clients, and referral sources might feel the same way? What if you took a stand? What if you…
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Strategies to Limit Digital Risk and Liability In this article, the author looks back at predictions made in the 2014 Pew Research. Reflecting on this study, it becomes self-evident that we understand what the problems are, and, perhaps, we even have good ideas of how to tackle these problems. Therefore, the issue is not necessarily “finding a solution” but rather, having the will and desire to implement a solution. Introduction A person’s perspectives and perceptions towards a problem drives the approach taken to solve that problem. Managing data privacy challenges are no different. Therefore, to address today’s issues, it is…
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You are not Limiting Yourself There is a lot of disruption going on in the BVFLS industry and you should give niching a fair shot if you have more of a generalist-type practice. In this article, Rod Bukert shares his views on how to overcome the fears of specialization. There is a lot of disruption going on in our industry; from accounting/business valuation firm mergers to big data valuation solutions to finding qualified staff. Now is the time to either leave or dig your heels in. One way of doing the latter is by specializing in a niche and being…
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Recognize Ethical and Professional Standards of Using AI AI is pervasive and promises to fundamentally transform business operations, education, and daily life. However, functional insights bridging the gap between AI and our industry have been lacking. The authors share their views on the ethical and professional standards implicated from the use of AI in forensics and valuation engagements. This article explores the need for, or lack thereof, to disclose the use of artificial intelligence (AI) technology in the fields of business valuation and financial forensics. AI is pervasive and promises to fundamentally transform business operations, education, and daily life. However,…
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What Do I Write About? Writing is an effective way to convey expertise and also a marketing devise. In this article, Rod Burkert shares who he writes for and answers the big unanswered question: how he decides what to write about. I talk about how much I write, who I write for, and when I get it all done. But apparently, I left this big question unanswered: How do I decide what to write about? Deciding What to Write About If you’re thinking of starting a regular BVFLS newsletter or blog, probably the biggest hurdle you’re imagining is: What do…
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Look at the Numbers and Exercise Skepticism Often, business owners will inadvertently present a biased account of their company’s success. Is there a similarity between the bias of business owner’s and crime scene victims? In this article, the author answers this question. Imagine this: you are at the scene of a crime. Witnesses are canvassed, each with their own version of events. One witness is adamant the suspect was wearing a red jacket, another swears it was blue, and a third did not even notice a jacket at all. The accounts are varied, often conflicting, and shaped by personal biases,…
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You Need Better Clients A frequent question that newly minted and experienced valuation practitioners raise, is how one gets more clients. The question that should be asked is how one gets better clients. The author shares his thoughts on why the latter is the better question and source of focus. Surprise, the most frequent practice development questions I get primarily have this theme: How do I get more clients? What if I told you this is the wrong mindset to have? How would your thinking (and actions) change if we talked about landing better clients instead? Hey, I get it.…