Emerging Technologies, Emerging Ethical Risks This article summarizes points made at the Address at the 2023 NACVA Annual Conference. December 15, 2023 | Virtual Course: We Know Smart Contracts are "Smart" but Are They "Ethical"? Emerging Technologies, Emerging Ethical Risks It is not the business of the botanist to eradicate the weeds. Enough for him if he can tell us just how fast they grow. –C. Northcote ...

Move Out of Your Comfort Zone In this month’s column, Rod Burkert discusses embracing risk and a growth mindset. If you are unhappy with your practice for any reason, is it because you are playing it too safe ... too small? Is your reluctance to take risks (which aren’t really risks) holding you back from reaching the next level … whatever that might be for you? Read on, learn from a seasoned BVFLS expert. ...

An Interview with Zain Kalson, founder of Etheia As part of a broader dialogue around business valuations in the context of divorce, this article features an interview conducted by Andrew Thompson, Esq., with Zain Kalson, the founder of Etheia. The article discusses trends regarding how advanced data analytics are helping attorneys and experts sort through hidden assets, analyze expenses, and improve outcom ...

Evaluation of Your Priorities Most BVFLS practitioners happen to have fallen into this line of work by accident or chance. How can we prioritize and also find meaning and purpose in our profession. Rod Burkert shares his views on this subject. Henry David Thoreau said, “The price of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it.” This made me think, “How much of our lives are we exchanging for the pric ...

Steps to Immediately Take Before Focusing on Marketing In this month’s article, Rod Burkert details six positioning and marketing blunders too many appraisers are making with respect to building and growing a BVFLS practice. I just passed the seven-year milestone of launching my coaching career. And I have to say (as someone else has previously said), “I know a thing or two because I have seen a thing or tw ...

A Primer on the Tax Law Issues Years ago, “golden parachute” payments were fully tax deductible by the employer if they were “ordinary and necessary” business expenses under Internal Revenue Code § 162. However, due to controversy over large executive pay packages, the Tax Reform Act of 1984 added § 280G to the Internal Revenue Code. This article discusses planning and tax deductibility issues under the cur ...

Reflections from an Experienced BV and Litigation Support Professional The author recalls that he originally thought that going solo was an ideal world. He distinctly recalls “I imagined hanging out my shingle and top shelf clients calling me to do their valuation projects on day one. Those clients would pay premium fees for my sage advice and bespoke reports. And the workflow would be steady.” Given his ye ...

Selection of Metrics to Measure Success Over the past years, companies have adopted a hybrid work model, that is an alternative to the Monday through Friday 9:00–5:00 in-office model. What hybrid model works best? This article discusses the emergence of the hybrid work model and metrics applied to test the model. With 74% of U.S. companies transitioning to a permanent hybrid work model, leaders are turning ...

There are riches in niches! That’s because you cannot be everything to everybody. Sounds reasonable. But what is missing is the advice that will help you identify your practice niche that everyone says is the secret sauce to making more money. There are riches in niches! That’s because you cannot be everything to everybody. Sounds reasonable. But what is missing is the advice that will help you identify you ...

Client Onboarding Onboarding clients is a critical task. This is a process that enables practitioners to mitigate risks and set client expectations. The author shares his views on the importance of client onboarding. While the experience of a new client or matter can be enthralling, practitioners should consider utilizing a formal, comprehensive client onboarding process to mitigate risk. Accepting a client ...

Really? How are professional fees determined? What role, if any, does the “market” have on this question. In this article, Rod Burkert shares his views on this matter. You get what you pay for. We hear this cliché most often in a pejorative sense, but is it true? How do we know? Take your practice … how do you determine the fees you set for your professional services? Only one answer makes sense, which you ...

There is a difference between a difficult client and a bad client. In this article, the author shares the distinction between the two and shares his views on how a difficult client can provide valuation professionals a professional growth opportunity. Related to who I choose to work with, I just closed out a valuation that I was engaged to perform. As I usually do, I went through my version of an “after act ...

And Setting Up an Office Creating a checklist may seem boring, but a checklist provides the end-users with a process that enables the business owner and service provider to identify processes that are useful to build and someday sell the company. This article contains such a list. This article provides a guide of the issues that need to be considered by someone starting a business. No opinions are offered o ...

How many clients will you gain or lose this year? A rough gauge of those figures might come from identifying whom among your client or referral bases is passively or actively loyal to you or your firm. Author Rohit Bhargava has written about this concept and understanding it presents two massive opportunities for your practice. The author of this article shares the insight gained from Rohit Bhargava. How ma ...

Answer These Five Questions How do you know if social networking will work for you? If you are using social media and not getting results, are you wasting precious time? If you are not using social media, are you missing out on a gaping opportunity? The author of this article has invested about 16 years on LinkedIn and about five years on YouTube. Based on what he has done and the results he has achieved in ...

It is that time of the year when we take stock of what we accomplished, what we did not, and plan for next year. But chances are, you may be too focused on tasks you can check off when they are done and not the big picture goals or where they are leading you towards—or not. This article discusses the importance of taking-in the big picture—the goals, strategies, and tactics—as one develops and/or reviews th ...

No matter what marketing strategies we use, we must be committed to them—and be consistent with them—if we want to see results. Intuitively, we know this is true. But it’s not what many practitioners do in real life. The author shares two strategies that are needed to successfully market services. No matter what marketing strategies we use, we must be committed to them—and be consistent with them—if we want ...

How does a business valuation appraiser become top of mind? For an expert to be top of mind in the mind of their target audience, this audience wants to see examples of the writer’s passion, personality, and perspective—the last item meaning, “show me how you would approach and solve this problem.” To do this, the writer needs original content. Content that is educational, a bit entertaining, and likely to ...

Why isn’t that client opting for the higher level of service? Why hasn’t that prospect accepted my proposal? Why can’t these people see the value in what I do? Can’t they see I’m an investment, not a cost? Oh, sorry—I’m not talking about your clients and prospects. I’m speaking for your current and potential vendors, i.e., that means you, but from someone else’s perspective. In this article, the author prop ...

From week to week, we need to work on making our practices better and more effective. It can be hard. It takes a commitment of time and effort, energy, and thought. But what IS easy is making small improvements from week to week that, over the course of say, a month, make a dramatic difference in the efficiency or effectiveness of our practice processes and procedures—by identifying and getting rid of drag ...