and Eat it Too! What is net working capital? The definition of net working capital is not fixed, and the meaning may vary by industry. It is also a key factor in a valuation and understanding there is a deficiency or excess will impact the value of the company and structure of an acquisition.
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Reliability of Client’s Data This article discusses how experts can handle the unique situation of receiving unreliable data. Litigation and appraisal literature will be reviewed as will the author’s handling of unreliable data in a recent lost profits case. In the end, warning signs will be reviewed to alert the expert to potential problems with the projected data.
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Case Study on the Use of Visuals to Track Revenue, Expenses, and Process What is CCO? How is it used? The CCO technique has no traceable origin, but its application is self-evident and imminently practical. The technique is typified by its initialism, i.e., CCO that self-describes the process: what is the condition underlying the problem(s), what is the cause of the underlying problem(s), and what is the outlook of the underlying problem? Here, the author provides an illustration of CCO and how his firm used it in an engagement.
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For “Intentionally Defective” Grantor Trusts (Part II of II) In this second and final part of this article, the author provides illustrations that showcase pitfalls to avoid when the power of substitution is exercised. Read Part I here.
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Top 5 Business Challenges The author discusses the top five business challenges identified by professional accounting and financial services firms, and proposes ways professionals can readily address those issues.
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Tips for Marketing Your Skills and Services Whether you are just starting your career, considering going out on your own, or expanding your business, there are three steps that will make your journey easier: conduct a self-assessment, develop a business plan, and design a marketing strategy. Sounds simple enough, but most businesses fail within the first year simply because people skip one or more of these fundamental steps. Ms. Yeend will be presenting on this topic Wednesday, June 20, 2018, at the NACVA/CTI’s Annual Consultant’s Conference at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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For “Intentionally Defective” Grantor Trusts (Part I of II) The power of substitution is held by the settlor of a grantor trust if this power is provided by the trust instrument. This power allows the settlor, at any time, to remove an asset or assets from the grantor trust in exchange for an asset or assets of equivalent value. Such a transfer can be problematic and vulnerable to challenge if the equivalent value is questionable. One such example is when a promissory note bearing a below-market interest rate is the substituted property. First, this discussion presents an analysis of the…
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In Measuring Trustee Breach of Fiduciary Duty Damages (Part II of II) The second part of this article focuses on the methodologies employed to quantify the economic damages when a fiduciary breach is claimed.
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Healthcare Regulatory Environment (Part III of VI) In the March/April 2018 issue of The Value Examiner, the author underscores the importance of undertaking rigorous due diligence to better understand the regulatory burdens and operational risks notwithstanding efforts to repeal and replace.
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In Measuring Trustee Breach of Fiduciary Duty Damages (Part I of II) The prudent investment of trust assets can minimize the potential for trustee fiduciary litigation risk, in addition to maximizing the trust beneficiaries’ economic interest in the trust. However, trust beneficiaries may initiate a breach of fiduciary duty tort claim when they feel that the trustee has breached any investment management fiduciary duties to the trust. For trust beneficiaries, and their legal counsel, who have brought breach of fiduciary duty tort claims against a trustee, one of the issues is how to measure the “damage” to the beneficiaries because…
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Perform a File Autopsy! We live and die in/by our engagements. Bet you never thought of it that way. But really, tell me life isn’t just peachy when you’re working on a fun/interesting/profitable case. And that life doesn’t just suck when you’re not. Wouldn’t it be nice to have more peaches? In this article, Rod Burkert shares his After Action Review process that enables practitioners to (re)focus on cases and clients that are interesting and engaging and discard those that are less “peachy”.
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Accepting and Rejecting Data from Public Company Data Valuation analysts who, for whatever reason, eschew the publicly traded guideline company method but who would like to use option models for various aspects of the valuation assignment, face a conundrum. All option models require, as an input, a volatility factor in percentage format. Since the only place to derive such a volatility factor (usually defined as the standard deviation of total returns) is from public company data, how do you reject public company data on the one hand over here but use it on the other hand over there? Using non-public…
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Fair Value Not Based on the Merger Price (Part II of II) This is the second of a two-part article (read part one here) that focuses on the SWS Group, Inc. case and the interplay between merger price and fair value. In earlier cases, the Delaware Court of Chancery rejected a merger price indication in favor of its own discounted cash flow analysis. Yet, in the SWS Group, Inc. appraisal decision, instead of a decision supporting a higher fair value, the court ultimately found that the merger price was too high. This ruling highlights the risk of an arbitrage appraisal…
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Fair Value Not Based on the Merger Price, Part I of II This is a two-part article that focuses on the SWS Group Inc. case and the interplay between merger price and fair value. In earlier cases the Delaware Court of Chancery rejected a merger price indication in favor of its own discounted cash flow analysis. Yet, in the SWS Group, Inc., appraisal decision, instead of a decision supporting a higher fair value, the court ultimately found that the merger price was too high. This ruling highlights the risk of an arbitrage appraisal strategy and may give dissenting shareholders something…
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For Accounting and Financial Services Firms In this article, Hinge presents its newest study of how professional services firms go to market—and for accounting and financial services firms, there is good news…and some not-so-good news.
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A Discount for Controlling Interests This article examines studies and judicial decisions addressing the use of DLOMs where there are controlling, 100% ownership interests, followed by review of a recent client assignment that illustrates the importance of being well versed with the valuation theory in this area.
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Revenge Porn, Ugg, VirnetX, and Apple This case law highlights a number of patent, copyright, and business valuation cases litigated in the first quarter of 2018. The revenge porn case highlights a distressing but potential opportunity for litigation support professionals. The VirnetX v. Apple and Deckers Outdoor Corporation v. Romeo & Juliette, Inc. cases highlight the perils of patent litigation and fleeting value of patents.
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On Patent Damages and Apportionment In two recent cases, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit provided important guidance when applying apportionment principles to calculate reasonable royalty damages. See Finjan, Inc. v. Blue Coat Systems, Inc., 879 F.3d 1299 (Fed. Cir. 2018); Exmark Mfg. Co. v. Briggs & Stratton Power Products Group, LLC, 879 F.3d 1332 (Fed. Cir. 2018). The Federal Circuit signaled greater flexibility when apportioning damages, which may permit using the royalty rate and not just the royalty base, to value a patented invention’s contribution to a larger, multicomponent product. The Circuit also reaffirmed, however, that…
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What is Your Case Worth Today? What is the value of a contested estate? In this article, the author shares her insight and discusses two leading U.S. Tax Court cases in this area, Estate of Lennon and Estate of Foster.
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Underlying Policy Identified The pass-through entity, that legal entity structure that has given valuators consternation over the years, is back in the news thanks to the Tax Cut and Jobs Acts (TCJA) signed into law at the end of 2017. According to the Joint Commission on Taxation, business owners filed 35.3 million pass-through returns in 2015. Another 1.6 million returns were file by C corporations. The TCJA has essentially created a flat tax of 21% for corporations. There is a lot of buzz about “199A”, a new Internal Revenue Code section and deduction and the introduction of a new term,…