With Examples From Asset Misappropriation to Financial Statement Fraud (Part I of II) This two-part article focuses on the two significant, but different, roles forensic accountants play in quantifying employee losses and how—in the normal course of the analysis—they may find instances of fraud that require further investigation. The authors first provide detailed guidance for forensic accountants in how to ...

Part II of IV This article is part two (read Part I here) of a four-part series related to the bankruptcy-related appraisal of industrial and commercial company real estate and real property, tangible personal property, and intangible personal property. Part one of the series considered all of the reasons why a valuation specialist in any appraisal discipline (herein called an “appraiser”) may be retained t ...

Tax Saving Tips for Small Business Owners This article discusses the recently issued Rev. Proc. 2022-32. The revenue procedure also serves to remind every estate planner that the days of the high lifetime exemption will soon be ending starting in 2025, if not sooner with all the uncertainties in Congress and the economy. The author discusses the merits of gift-giving in light of the potential changes. On Ju ...

Third Quarter 2022 2021 was a significant year for business owners who chose to exit via a sale of their privately held businesses. The government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic pumped billions of dollars into the economy, helping to drive a robust mergers and acquisitions market led by aging baby boomers preparing to retire and concerned about the prospect that the Biden administration was potentially ...

Part I of IV This is the first article of a four-part series. This initial article summarizes the generally accepted property appraisal approaches and methods that appraisers typically consider in a bankruptcy-related assignment. This discussion also describes the property appraisal synthesis and conclusion process. Due to the litigious nature of a bankruptcy proceeding, bankruptcy-related property appraisa ...

An Outline for Making Awards Useful and Final (Part III of III) Appraisal is a frequently used and often maligned method to adjudicate disputes in the property insurance world. Typically, appraisal is used for the purposes of evaluation only and will not bring finality to a claim in which coverage, or, in certain jurisdictions, causation is also being disputed. Although the perceived advantages of appraisal ...

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 ...

Conclusory Conclusions and Opinionated Opinions Tests of Time The current valuation environment tends to be more about supporting the conclusion of value based upon the chosen approach and methodology with consideration of all three approach to business valuation far too often involving little more than the analyst placing a wet finger in the air and saying “ah yes, a discounted cash flow.” This eleventh ar ...

An Outline for Making Awards Useful and Final (Part II of III) Appraisal is a frequently used and often maligned method to adjudicate disputes in the property insurance world. Typically, appraisal is used for the purposes of evaluation only and will not bring finality to a claim in which coverage, or, in certain jurisdictions, causation is also being disputed. Although the perceived advantages of appraisal ...

A Review of the Basics for Lost Profits (Part II) In this second part of our series reviewing the basics for lost profits, we will contrast the differences between valuing a lost business and calculating an ongoing business’s lost profits. Because many experts calculating lost profits also provide business valuations, both in and out of litigation, it is good to be reminded of the similarities and differenc ...

Guidelines for Resolving Disputes in First Party Property Insurance Claims (Part I of III) Appraisal is a frequently used and often maligned method to adjudicate disputes in the property insurance world. Typically, appraisal is used for the purposes of evaluation only and will not bring finality to a claim in which coverage, or, in certain jurisdictions, causation is also being disputed. Although the percei ...

A Review of the Basics for Lost Profits (Part I) Those who have worked in the forensic field for many years begin to take for granted how we approach and handle certain situations. We have a level of knowledge and experience that lets us move forward without much research. But, with this level of experience and understanding comes a level of forgetfulness. Not that we forget how to perform the analysis, but ...

September 2022 This article summarizes Agnelli v. Lennox Miami Corp., 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 125346, 2022 WL 2788875 (S.D.Fl. July 14, 2022). This state of Florida case shows that nepotism does not always work out so well. The case involves misappropriation of corporate money, fair value valuations, the use of discounts for lack of control and marketability, and statutory interpretation.  As Garry Marshall f ...

Targeting Construction and Real Estate Industries It has become commonplace in the real estate and construction industry to make electronic, digital, and wired payments, especially with the very large sums that are often transferred. With paper checks disappearing, cybercriminals are now targeting these industries—victimizing both payors and payees—and causing significant financial tension and reputational ...

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 ...

Behavioral Underpinnings of Greed In this article, the authors discuss the unprecedented growth of cryptocurrency and the accompanying risks and fraud. They ask, Why does a person choose the characteristics of cryptocurrency to be not only a secure medium of exchange, but also one with upward price potential? The recent price drop in the spring of 2022 shows the magnitude of loss of value Bitcoin has suffer ...

Calculating Lost Revenue Lost profit damages are calculated when a plaintiff’s business alleges that the defendant’s actions impaired its operations in some manner. Determining lost revenues is a critical component in calculating lost profits. Lost profits are based primarily on lost revenues net of the cost associated with generating the lost revenues (saved and/or extra operating expenses can be additiona ...

and Credentialing Organizations The author in this article discusses cases where members of credentialing organizations sue the organization for injunctive relief and monetary damages. He discusses the role of the arbitrator and causes that appear to prompt members to pursue redress through the court once sanctioned. Introduction As I mentioned in my first article for QuickRead, my experience as an Arbitrat ...

Valuation Implications Over the past couple of months, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released the proposed rules for several of its payment schedules, indicating the state of healthcare reimbursement for the next year. This article briefly summarizes these proposed payment rules and discusses their significance to healthcare valuation professionals. The U.S. government is the larges ...

Has Work-Life Balance Changed After COVID-19? In this article, the author shares a personal story regarding how the COVID-19 outbreak affected her role as a professional and mother. The story shared is about perseverance and focus, and emerging emotionally stronger as a mother and valuation professional. Like many valuation analysts, I began my career at a CPA firm. Several years into my career, I became a ...