in Not-for-Profit Entities There is an established body of knowledge that addresses economic damages in connection with for-profit organizations, but little about how these concepts apply to not-for-profit organizations. In this article, the author sets forth how those concepts apply to charitable organizations. “You will be much more in control, if you realize how much you are not in control.”―Benjamin Gra ...

A Discussion of Rover Pipeline, LLC v. 10.55 Acres of Land, More or Less, in Ashland County, Ohio, et al. “In God we trust. All others must bring data.” This famous saying has been attributed to various people, but it implies that when data is presented, the conclusion can be trusted. However, the Ohio District Court’s decision in Rover Pipeline, LLC v. 10.55 Acres of Land, More or Less, in Ashland County, ...

Beyond Keyword Placement—An Illustration for Search Engines to Find You In previous QuickRead articles, the author discussed the role blogging can play when marketing a firm’s services. When relevant articles are written and posted on a website, those articles can be found by prospects who are looking to solve a business challenge. But to ensure that blog posts are discovered, one needs to optimize them by ...

A Forensic Accountant’s Process The purpose of this article is to explain how forensic accountants look at the big picture, both financially and by understanding past behaviors, to uncover items that may help you or your client. The author shares that some of his biggest “wins” in fraud investigations started with broad allegations; however, the techniques used to identify and quantify these allegations wer ...

Understand the Cyber Security Threat Landscape and Threats to the Accounting Industry Do you feel like your firm’s data is safe? Do you feel like your client’s sensitive information is secure? Do you sleep each night feeling secure that you will not be hit by a data breach? If you answered yes to all three of those questions, it is time to wake up to the real risks you are faced with. You need to make sure ...

The Role of the Expert in 21st Century Dispute Resolution—A Recovering Judge’s Perspective As technology evolves, the role of the expert and the interplay between experts and the judiciary will evolve. This change is already underway. In this article, QuickRead presents the presentation made by Retired Judge Platt at the NACVA and the CTI’s Annual Consultants’ Conference, held in Salt Lake City. Judge Platt ...

Finding the Culprits Whatever happened to the expected post-acquisition income? The author identifies the potential culprits. One of my favorite games as a kid was the murder-mystery classic Clue. How many of you remember trying to deduce the culprit, the murder weapon and the room in which the attack took place? “I think it was Colonel Mustard in the kitchen with the candlestick.” “I think it was Mrs. Peac ...

The Use of Common Sense and Experience The acceptance of tools such as Monte Carlo simulation and Option Pricing models has changed our ability to value options, warrants, and derivative instruments. The list goes on and on. However, as many of us are fond of saying, valuation is as much an art as it is a science. Many of our tools address the science, not so many of them address the art. In my opinion, one ...

Avoid Traps with a Timely Appraisal New basis-consistency requirements make defensible valuations of inherited property even more important. Informed taxpayers are aware that only the wealthiest individuals should have concerns about the federal estate and gift tax, for gifts given and decedents dying in 2018 through 2025. Thanks to the legislation known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), P.L. 115-97, the ...

Consider Michael Jackson, the Empire State Building, and Myriad of Value Drivers (Part II of II) In this concluding article, the second of a two-part series, the authors conclude presenting additional illustrations that underscore their primary thesis: that in many businesses, value is illusory and there are a host of factors that are unanticipated and cannot be modeled. In this concluding article, the seco ...

Options that Provide Superior Results Compared to Renting Marketers of accounting and valuation firms have long used e-mail marketing to nurture new and existing prospects. But what is the best way to develop a good list in the first place? This article provides seven proven strategies for building your firm’s e-mail list faster. Marketers of accounting and valuation firms have long used e-mail marketing to ...

Everything is Changing (Part I of II) In this two-part article, the authors present some illustrations that indicate the illusion of value of many businesses. Business appraisers have many tools to determine the value of a closely held business. So many so, that many “official” conclusions of value for the same business generate significant differences. This borne out by the normal expectation of rebuttal r ...

Private Equity’s Fast and Furious Entry into Healthcare (Part III of III) The third of this three-part series examines why private equity and venture capital firms are targeting the healthcare industry and the issues that they encounter managing their healthcare portfolio. Private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) firms are attracted by the potential for growth that exists in the healthcare industry; how ...

Of a Successful Negotiation It does not matter if you are going to be involved in direct negotiations or negotiating a settlement during mediation, the key is to determine the answers to five critical questions. In this article, Nancy Neal Yeend shares the five critical questions and answers that must be addressed to successfully negotiate. It does not matter if you are going to be involved in direct negoti ...

Attaining Reasonable Certainty in Economic Damages Calculations (Part III of III) The purpose of this article—the third of three (Part I and Part II) on this topic—is to provide the reader with an understanding of Chapter 3 (What Constitutes Best Evidence) of the 2018 Practice Aid as well as certain other publications containing a body of knowledge on the best evidence to support economic damages in a court ...

Full-Time Mother and the Firm Perspective (Part II of II) This article is a follow-up article to an earlier article written by Laura Whitman, CPA, MS, manager, WithumSmith+Brown, PC titled Part-Time Accountant; Full-Time Mother. In this article, Edward Mendlowitz, CPA, ABV, CFF, interviews John Mortenson, CPA, partner in charge of the Withum East Brunswick, NJ office who interviewed Laura Whitman regarding ...

For Prospects and Clients to Work With You One of the easy-to-implement practice development tips proposed by the author, who coaches, is this: If you are looking to build/grow your practice, start by making just one thing easier for your prospects and clients to use or understand. Identify something they do, read, or experience and answer this question: How could I make that easier? In this article, four c ...

Meet Skynet … Your Professional Role is About to Change! What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)? How will AI impact the way we work? Serve our clients? In this article, the author explains what AI is and how the evolving technology will impact our professional practice. The goal of artificial intelligence (AI) in the computer science world is to create human intelligence demonstrated by machines. Once this hu ...

Full-Time Mother (Part I of II) Striking a work-life balance is difficult. Are there solutions and an upside to firms committed to retaining the investment made developing professionals? This article was originally written in 2013 for the Withum Journal where Laura Whitman shares her perspective. The article has been updated to reflect events that occurred since it was originally published. This article was ...

Ownership Interests in Privately Held Companies This article focuses on concepts and issues that are important for family law attorneys to understand when navigating cases that involve divorcing clients with ownership interests in privately-held entities. One of the first questions that arises is whether we need to retain a valuation expert? This is an important question, where experts can provide attorneys ...