A Legislative Approach? In April of 2023, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) committed to move forward with a regulation to clearly detail “adequate consideration” in section 408(e) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). For decades the DOL has utilized litigation versus heeding Congress’s edict to enact regulations regarding adequate consideration and it seems as though ac ...

How AI is Transforming the Industry Artificial Intelligence (AI) represents a paradigm shift in the realm of computational capabilities, transcending traditional boundaries of machine functionality to emulate human-like intelligence. AI has made remarkable advances in recent years due to the availability of massive amounts of data, powerful computing resources, and innovations in methods and architectures. ...

Damages Before? Or Damages After? For those that perform lost profits and other commercial damage calculations, you are most likely familiar with the ex-ante versus ex-post approaches and applications when it comes to applying discounts to present value calculated damages. But what about the application of the ex-ante and ex-post theories and approaches to the damages calculations themselves? This article a ...

As readers know, the holy grail of a firm’s success is the professional stream and practices that sustain the referral stream. In the author’s view “it does not have to be an endless stream, just a manageable one.” The author shares his views on how to make this happen. As you know, the holy grail of your successful professional practices is a stream of referrals. But it does not have to be an endless strea ...

Principles, Tasks, and Tools for Success This article is based on the presentation given by Andreas Creutzmann at the NACVA and the CTI’s BVFL Super Conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL, on December 14, 2023, and on his book, Soft Skills for the Professional Services Industry: Principles, Tasks, and Tools for Success, published by Wiley. It aims to present the principles, tasks, and tools that are essential fo ...

Factors to Arrive at a Value that are Beyond the Three Approaches This article addresses valuations for buy/sell transactions with private buyers and private sellers. A business owner calls and says: I want to sell my business. Can you tell me what it’s worth? Thousands of these transactions are occurring daily. But before you go any further, stop and ask more questions. As business valuators, we are condit ...

And How the IRS Unravels Contract Law in its Newest Cryptocurrency Proposals This article details the issues with the proposal put forth by the IRS related to cryptocurrency transaction reporting and identifies the actionable bits of information that may be useful to practitioners. This article also covers proposed rules expanded definition of a broker and whom the new regulation will cover along with the w ...

A Process to “Right” the Company Often later-stage, venture-backed companies (“late-stage start-ups”) seek advice as they find themselves languishing in the neverland between being heavy on intellectual property (IP) assets and light on commercial products or services. Typically, we are contacted by an investor or board member who has become fatigued by management’s assertions that ultimate success is ‘just ...

Refreshing Our Vision for Our Work Appraisal is one of the oldest and most universal human habits. Humans have been appraising since the beginning of time. Appraisal is also a uniquely human habit requiring a spectrum of skills and thought processes that are not found in nature or machines. While often impugned for being faulty and having a variety of biases, our ability to “appraise,” assess, form judgment ...

People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump et al. The recent lengthy court opinion in People of the State of New York v. Donald J. Trump et al., provides a cautionary tale to aspiring damages expert witnesses. In this article, Michael Molder synthesis the factors that persuaded and dissuaded the judge. It is axiomatic in the civil justice system that everyone is entitled to present their case as the ...

and Contingency Recommendations This article is authored by two Litigation Forensics Board members who have also created a survey to help practitioners with the process of exit planning. Have you thought about what will happen when you exit your current position or consider selling your practice? Here are some questions to ask yourself: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LFBSurvey. Now that awareness has been c ...

Any service can be replicated, leaving only the execution as a true differentiator. And your difference—your winning difference—is the reason people do business with you and not someone else. It sets you apart and makes you the best choice for your ideal client. The author shares three ways to find your winning difference. Any service can be replicated, leaving only the execution as a true differentiator. A ...

The Impact on Payment Rate Updates, Hospital Price Transparency, Rural Hospital Designation, Drug Pricing, and Intensive Outpatient Program On November 2, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released its finalized Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) for calendar year (CY) 2024. The finalized payment update increases payments to outpatient facilities and finalizes changes to ...

Part IV in a Series Addressing Advances in Forensic Accounting and Financial Forensics The increasing amount of data is daunting. Managing and making sense of the vast amount of information is paramount to professionals. In this article, the author shares how he has managed those first impressions and found value using AI and software to understand the information deluge. In the 1990s, the Rubik’s cube craz ...

Part III in a Series Addressing Advances in Forensic Accounting and Financial Forensics Those working to manage valuations and investigate fraud are seeing the impact of two trends that emerged in 2023: an increasingly tight labor market and the advancement and adoption of new technologies. The reality is as we enter 2024 and the workforce continues to shrink, the implications of these new technology innova ...

NACVA/CTI BVFLS Conference Presentation Summary This article is a review of a session involving exit planning that was covered in a highly interactive, standing-room-only session from the NACVA/CTI BVFLS Conference in Fort Lauderdale, FL on December 14, 2023. This article is a review of the topics covered in the highly interactive, standing-room-only session from the NACVA/CTI BVFLS Conference in Fort Laude ...

Who Really Owns the Company!? Have you heard about the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) Beneficial Ownership Interest Reporting (BOIR) requirements? The penalties for non-compliance are $591(adjusted for inflation) a day up to $10,000 and/or two years in jail. This article outlines the requirements for small private companies and ends with some suggestions for business valuation analysts. Have you heard abo ...

Use in Private-Business Valuation (Part II) This article in this continuing series explains the Implied Private Company Pricing Line (IPCPL), theory, evidence, and application of the IPCPL. How to Understand IPCPL Theory In the first article in this series (published in two parts 02/01/24 and 02/08/24), it was shown that the Implied Private Company Pricing Line (IPCPL) theory explains and predicts the relat ...

The Tax Court Says Certified A recent Tax Court opinion brought to light the importance of having an appraiser designation from a professional appraiser organization. While the decision is limited to Tax Court cases, it provides a cautionary tale for all who provide business appraisals in litigious situations. A recent Tax Court opinion brought to light the importance of having an appraiser designation from ...

In Your Expert Report This article includes tips for preparing an expert report but is not intended to be all inclusive. In addition to these points, remember to carefully consider professional standards, including those that are non-binding, and any code of ethics. Also prepare your report with the expectation of a Daubert motion or similar challenge to your qualifications and/or methodology. The Federal R ...