The rise in firm discontinuances and sales brings with it a host of practitioner concerns regarding independence, confidentiality, and the transfer of client files.  To address these concerns and provide specific guidance, the Professional Ethics Executive Committee issued two new interpretations of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct (the Code) and revised an existing interpretation.  April Sherman, man ...

Some valuation practitioners use a normalized risk-free rate in determining the cost of capital.  This can inflate the cost of equity by up to a couple of percentage points, which in turn depresses valuation multiples.  Is normalizing the risk-free rate a rational, reasonable practice?  In today’s guest post, Chris Mercer suggests the answer is an emphatic no. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Fi ...

As many firms are struggling to recruit and retain qualified people, some practitioners have found that value pricing has made their working environment more efficient and more attractive to staff members.  Value pricing can keep your team happier and make your firm more profitable. To read the full article in the Journal of Accountancy, click: How Implementing Value Pricing Can Help Your Staff Get More Don ...

Navigating the New Social Security Rules Changes to Social Security rules have eliminated the file-and-suspend strategy for younger couples.  However, couples should still coordinate their claiming strategies, and there are various rules about disability benefits and divorced spouses to keep in mind.  PFP/PFS section members can listen to this podcast on the latest Social Security developments by Ted Sarens ...

Applications for patents in the U.S. have nearly tripled over the past 20 years.  Perhaps increased innovation, more cutthroat competitive practices, and an uptick in litigious activity surrounding idea ownership are to credit.  One thing that is clear is that there are many implications of filing a patent beyond just its ability to enforce exclusivity of an idea—for founders and investors alike. To read th ...

Ditch the 4 Percent Rule.  Here's How to Handle Your Retirement Withdrawals It might be time to scrap the 4% retirement rule, as it could be unsafe if there are large portfolio losses in the early years of retirement.  Here are three factors to weigh when developing a financial plan. To read the full article in CNBC, click: An Alternative to the 4% Rule. ...

The Benefits of Setting Up a Trusteed IRA Trusteed individual retirement accounts are not right for every circumstance, but they can provide additional control over assets.  For example, trusteed IRAs can help clients determine what happens to assets after the death of a beneficiary, which can be especially useful for clients who have been married multiple times.  Talk with your clients about trusteed and o ...

Earnings season will get underway next week.  Banks should live up to their reputation as being boring albeit with pretty good results.  Loan growth looks as though it will be modest, but net interest margins should increase following the March and June rate hikes and the accompanying move higher in the London Interbank Offered Rate.  Jeff Davis, CFA, managing director of Mercer Capital’s Financial Institut ...

What to do With an Underperforming Life Insurance Policy Several options exist for handling a universal life insurance policy that is no longer serving a client's needs.  In this real-world example, four experts offer advice on what they would do with such a policy, with some of them recommending that the policy be surrendered. To read the full article in WealthManagement, click: Surrender a Universal Life ...

How well do you understand the foundational principles of an effective fraud risk management program?  Take this quiz and find out. To read the full article in Journal of Accountancy, click: What’s Your Fraud IQ? ...

What to do when an IPO requires too much legal work and is subject to regulation and finding a venture capital partner takes too long and is full of unknowns?  Mint your own money, of course.  In this case, however, companies are minting digital coins rather than churning out physical objects. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: Is an Initial Coin Offering a New Way ...

Social media does not have to be time-consuming.  Increase the effectiveness of your firm's social media outreach by connecting with the right people, posting different content on different social networks, and using an appropriate profile image. To read the full article in InvestmentNews, click: How to Achieve Social Media Success in 15 Minutes or Less. ...

A new survey reveals fake financial news is affecting Americans' ability to make retirement, investment and health care decisions.  Even worse, Americans feel that fake news will be more prevalent in the future.  The AICPA National CPA Financial Literacy Commission has tips to help keep Americans from falling into the fake news trap. To read the full article in AICPA Insights, click: 5 Tips to Help Identify ...

In our most recent issue of Portfolio Valuation: Private Equity and Venture Capital Marks and Trends, we provide a brief digest and commentary of some of the most relevant market trends influencing the fair value of private equity and venture capital portfolio investments.  In this blog, there are key highlights covered in our Second Quarter 2017 newsletter. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Fina ...

Estate Planning Missteps Create a Burden for Beneficiaries Mistakes such as failing to create an inventory of assets, having too many accounts or not including a see-through provision in a trust can complicate matters for beneficiaries who are left behind after a client dies.  Proactive planning can help simplify the situation for a client's loved ones. To read the full article in Kiplinger, click: Some of ...

Try this Tactic to Minimize Generation-Skipping Taxes Generation-skipping taxes and other issues can complicate the process of transferring wealth from one generation to another.  William Kriesel, CPA, PFS, explains how giving relatives a partnership interest in a family business can overcome some of these challenges. To read the full article in The CPA Journal, click: Accomplishing Estate Planning Goals th ...

How to Retire in Your 30s or 40s The FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) movement encourages people to save as much as half of their income in their early years so they can retire sooner and focus on other pursuits as they live off their investment portfolio.  Tom Anderson provides several retirement calculators and tools geared to the FIRE movement. To read the full article in CNBC, click: Use Thes ...

Small Business Borrowing Falls to Lowest Point Since October Small business borrowing fell in April to its lowest point since October and was down five percent from April 2016, according to the Thomson Reuters/PayNet Small Business Lending Index.  The drop is seen as an indicator of potentially slowing economic growth. To read the full article in Reuters, click: U.S. Small Business Borrowing Drops to Six Mo ...

How Personal Financial Planning Complements CPA Practices Adding personal financial planning services can help CPA firms build stronger bonds with clients and open up opportunities for referrals, writes Stuart Kessler, CPA, PFS.  He shares several techniques that can help your PFP practice, beginning with helping clients feel relaxed and comfortable during initial meetings.  CPAs who are interested in addin ...

In earlier blog posts we discussed the potentially pernicious effect of a decline in the value of pre-public companies on equity compensation granted to employees.  Sujan Rajbhandary, senior member of Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, explains that unlike preferred investors, employees also depend on their employers for current income. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financi ...