What Forensic Accountants Need to Avoid Doing What do forensic accountants need to know when performing a business interruption loss engagement? What are some of the common errors and pitfalls that forensic accountants need to avoid? In this article, the author will answer these questions as well as walk through the process of performing a business interruption loss engagement. [su_pullquote align="right"]R ...

Observations and Delaware Fair Value (Part II of II) This is the second of a two-part article, read Part I here, that focuses on empirical evidence supporting the size premium adjustment, observations regarding the CRSP size premium 10th decile category, liquidity issues that may account for the size premium, and certain Delaware Chancery Court decisions involving a size premium discussion. In this second p ...

A Risk Reduction Strategy? Being self-employed is no longer code for “recently laid-off” or “fired”. The self-employed professional diversifies risk. It is a privilege for the talented, but it also requires motivation and continual sharpening of the saw. How ready are you to assess your talents? Level of risk tolerance?   As a practice development coach for our industry, I get a ton of questions asking what ...

Observations and Delaware Fair Value (Part I of II) This is a two-part article that focuses on empirical evidence supporting the size premium adjustment, observations regarding the CRSP size premium 10th decile category, liquidity issues that may account for the size premium, and certain Delaware Chancery Court decisions involving a size premium discussion. These are discussed since in the past few years th ...

For Finding Guest Blogging Opportunities Have you considered an article you have written on another website, posting a guest blog? What are the benefits? How hard is it to get or become a guest blogger? In this article, the author discusses the opportunities of posting a guest blog. [su_pullquote align="right"]Resources: Get Published in QuickRead[/su_pullquote] Have you ever considered writing a guest blog ...

In Financial Projections (Part II of II) This is a two-part article that considers the review and assessment of prospective financial information. Specifically, this discussion describes the behavioral bias that may influence financial projections. This discussion should inform any party involved in compiling or assessing financial projections. This discussion is particularly relevant for fiduciaries who ma ...

Lessons on Ill-Conceived Strategies that Companies Should Avoid Doing in Business and in Litigation Being aggressive in business and in litigation is considered an advantage. But, as illustrated in a recent 7th Circuit case, it is possible to be overly aggressive. When this is coupled with some serious mistakes in business and in litigation, it can be disastrous. The cases, 4SEMO.COM Incorporated v. Souther ...

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 H.R.1 There was a flurry of activity within the valuation community following passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) and several complicated tax calculation models were unveiled. While we acknowledge the TCJA is beginning to show a noticeable impact on the level of our value conclusions, how much of an impact ought it really have on the way we perform our work? ...

In Financial Projections (Part I of II) This is a two-part article that considers the review and assessment of prospective financial information. Specifically, this discussion describes the behavioral bias that may influence financial projections. This discussion should inform any party involved in compiling or assessing financial projections. This discussion is particularly relevant for fiduciaries who may ...

The Problem with Exit Multiples Most of an Income Approach-based valuation is frequently in the terminal value. Thus, an Income Approach-based valuation that relies on an exit multiple to arrive at a terminal value is essentially a Market Approach-based valuation in disguise. Many practitioners do not use an exit multiple to arrive at a terminal value for this reason. Nevertheless, numerous practitioners pr ...

Expert Witness Industry Revenues IBISWorld, an economic and industry source used by valuation and damages professionals, issues an economic report on the expert witness industry. In this article, Michael Pakter, an expert, discusses industry revenue trends—which are mixed—and also how that may affect current and prospective valuation and damages experts. [su_pullquote align="right"]Resources: Expert Witness ...

In Dissenting Shareholder Appraisal Rights Matters (Part II of II) The Delaware Court of Chancery decisions on the treatment of synergistic value in dissenting shareholder appraisal rights cases provide meaningful guidance to valuation analysts, legal counsel, and other courts. This final part of the article continues the discussion on recent judicial decisions issued by the Delaware Court of Chancery where ...

Of Your Work? What can a BVFLS professional do to stand out amongst his or her peers? In this article, Rod Burkert shares his thoughts. How do BVFLS professionals like us to demonstrate our analytical skill? How do we exhibit our problem-solving acumen? How do we showcase our report writing talent? I have an idea…turns out it is somewhat controversial…but read on and let me know what you think. All creative ...

Engage the audience! Conducting webinars is a great way to accomplish that goal; however, it is important to understand how the topic selected can have a dramatic effect on its success. Just as a great headline can hook readers, a good webinar topic will bring in more attendees—and the more people who attend, the more opportunities will arise for the speaker and his or her firm to sell services. This articl ...

In Dissenting Shareholder Appraisal Rights Matters (Part I of II) The Delaware Court of Chancery decisions on the treatment of synergistic value in dissenting shareholder appraisal rights cases provide meaningful guidance to valuation analysts, legal counsel, and other courts. In this two-part article, the author discusses recent judicial decisions issued by the Delaware Court of Chancery where synergistic ...

Denny Construction, Inc. v. City and County of Denver, Colorado, acting by and through its Board of Water Commissioners This article presents a case analysis wherein a general contractor sued for breach of contract and litigated the owner for breach of co bid due to its impaired bonding capacity, which resulted from defendant’s declaration of default and claim against the contractor’s performance bond. This ...

Technology Expectations This article discusses the importance of adopting the latest technology and software and how to minimize the value gap. Most accountants have struggled to keep up with this new wave of technology and a growing value gap is arising in firms of all sizes. This value gap represents all the lost opportunities by not having the right technology solutions in place. These lost opportunities ...

It is all Based on Your Perspective In this article, the author presents three common ways that a single purchase price may be calculated and presented. With football season on the horizon, I cannot help but think about September 24, 2013—a night that many football fans will not soon forget. The Seattle Seahawks were playing the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football. The game was going down to the wire ...

Is it the Market or the Model? Petitioners in Delaware appraisal cases must necessarily argue that fair value exceeds the deal price. In contrast, financial economists tend to view prices from a well-functioning market as “true north” when valuing a stock. Valuation models—such as a discounted cash flow (DCF) model—+can be important tools but are known to be sensitive to their numerous inputs. When such a m ...

The Excess Earnings Capitalization Rate This article presents a method for calculating the capitalization rate for excess earnings. The good news is that this capitalization rate can be calculated. The bad news is that with the calculated excess earnings capitalization rate, the excess earnings method gives the same value as the single period capitalization method under the Income Approach, i.e., the excess ...