Five Measures Leadership Should Consider to Address Vilification Is there room to negotiate with workplace dictators? In this article, the author discusses how to approach seemingly impossible workplace conflicts. The aim of every organization should be to provide a workplace where respect enables staff and key employees to serve customers, and the mission and vision are realized.
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Unsecured Creditors: Risk and Cramdown Rates (Part I of II) This is the first of a two-part article. In October 2017, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals handed down its decision on cramdown interest rates in the matter In re: MPM Silicones, LLC. This decision has already stirred a great deal of discussion regarding cramdown interest rates to be paid secured creditors in Chapter 11 bankruptcy matters. Numerous articles have appeared on-line discussing the impact of this decision. These articles follow in a long line of literature on cramdown hearings and secured creditors. Conversely, little has been written about impaired…
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Quantifying the Risk Adjustment Depending on the valuation assignment facts and circumstances, the valuation analyst (analyst) may encounter a unique valuation problem: a problem that is well outside the ordinary scope of typical valuation issues. Unique problems provide the analyst an opportunity to develop thought leadership solutions in a manner that (1) provides value to the client and (2) assists the reader of the valuation report. These thought leadership solutions (1) can provide context to the identified problems and (2) can help to measure the effect of the problem on the subject investment interest.
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Time to Check-in and Frankly Address those Emotional Issues Seller’s remorse is real and not being emotionally prepared to transition the business is as dangerous as the value and financial matters. The emotional component of the sale/transition is worth considerably more than the money you will receive for the business. In this article, Edwin Mysogland shares the importance of addressing the emotional issues that arise when small business owners transition out of the business.
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Challenging and Defending Compensation and Use of the Independent Investor Test C corporations and S corporations should pay shareholder/executive compensation based on the fair market value of the executive services rendered—or risk being audited and possibly penalized by the Internal Revenue Service. Forensic analysts can help companies determine reasonable shareholder/executive compensation using free or fee-based compensation data, with consideration of statutory authority and judicial precedent. This discussion (1) summarizes the federal income tax statutes and judicial precedents related to shareholder/executive compensation, (2) provides a list of frequently relied upon executive compensation data sources, and (3) reviews important issues presented in…
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Medical Director Compensation This article is the fourth in a series involving current healthcare management issues. An in-depth article on this issue was published in The Value Examiner’s September/October 2017 issue. In that issue, the authors discuss issues setting forth medical director services and establishing defensible compensation arrangements.
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The Case of the Delayed Real Estate Development In a situation where there is a claim of wrongdoing and one party suffers pecuniary damages, it is incumbent on the economic damages expert to precisely define the period of such claimed damages to properly quantify them. The outcome is largely dependent on the expert’s processes for determining damages, the components of the Expert Report, and the ability to remain unbiased and issue opinions independent of the client’s interests.
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Know What You are Doing Creating or renovating a firm’s website is often a major undertaking. Because years can pass before a website is redone, it is easy to overlook key steps or strategies—and to underestimate the amount of time and effort it will require.
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Identifying Gaps and Risks Valuation and financial forensics professionals and their firms often provide other services. In this article, the author discusses Anti-Money Laundering (AML) actions and which industries are at risk for violating Bank Secrecy Law and AML provisions. Many kinds of businesses are at risk for money laundering and for penalties if AML programs do not meet regulatory standards. Financial institutions—banks, credit card companies, investment brokers, etc.—are under scrutiny to comply with AML requirements as are casinos and dealers in hard goods such as automobile, boat, and airplane dealers, and jewelers. Certain industries, such as insurance and real…
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Fraudulent Payroll and Expense Schemes (Part III of III) This article represents the third installment of a three-part series discussing the potential for embezzlement within an organization by its Accountant Bookkeeper Office Manager (ABOM). Part one discussed how the ABOM could mishandle incoming cash receipts to commit fraud. Part two discussed how the ABOM could mishandle outgoing cash disbursements to commit fraud. This article will be discussing how an ABOM can alter payroll data to embezzle cash. There are two types of payroll schemes that a law organization can fall victim. An ABOM can engage in a ghost employee scheme…
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Don’t be a Victim of Fraud Fraud can affect virtually any organization and fraud costs can be far more than just monetary losses. The author discusses the recent Wells Fargo fraud investigation and shares her views regarding what makes for an effective risk identification program. The effects of fraud can go beyond simple dollar losses and include harm to the organization’s reputation, employee morale, legal costs, and erosion of confidence by investors among other negative effects.
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Perils of Selling to Family Members and Delaying a Sale Now to Third Parties Are the increases in market multiples and the access to capital a sign of the impending surge of business exits? In this article, the author shares his views on selling to family members vis-à-vis to a non-heir third party, the perils of waiting to sell a business, discussing the valuation gap and seller’s expectations, and delaying a sell.
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NACVA Member Survey Findings on Employee Recruitment and Retention Hinge Marketing recently completed a NACVA member survey. In this survey, Dr. Frederiksen learned that NACVA members sought to improve recruiting and retention in their firms. These were the two highest. In addition, gathering insights about how firms approach these challenges, we also asked employee-candidates how they search for and evaluate potential career opportunities. In this article, Dr. Frederiksen provides seven branding tips for aspiring experts.
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The Value of a Business is Not Always What it Seems (Part I of II) Personal goodwill is taxed at the individual capital gains tax rate, not the higher corporate income tax rate. Therefore, a credible personal goodwill calculation can amount to significant tax savings. One that is not adequately defensible invites risk of an audit. Every personal goodwill calculation is unique to each business, and the management interview is crucial. In this first of a two-part article, the author discusses when goodwill may need to be calculated and answers whether goodwill is only present if a key employee is…
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Given a Fixed Amount of EBITDA After reading Steve Egna’s article in the April 12, 2017 issue of QuickRead Buzz, in which he suggests that a larger multiple of EBITDA is realized as the number of employees of the selling business increases, the author considered testing whether that same approach could help explain why a certain amount of EBITDA would generate multiple amounts of MVIC. In this article, the author shares his findings.
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Why Attorneys Tend to Overvalue Their Cases and What to Do! Research indicates that most lawyers over value their cases, and what is even more fascinating, it does not matter how long the attorney has been in practice! There are a number of reasons over valuation occurs; sometimes the answer is just that the attorney did not spend enough time reviewing the case, or failed to consider getting a second opinion. Then there are significant psychological factors that influence case valuation: anchoring, confirmation bias, and just plain old over confidence. The good news is there are some very simple steps…
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Authored by: James R. Hitchner; R. James Alerding; Joshua B. Angell; and Katherine E. Morris The author provides a review of Discount for Lack of Marketability Guide and Toolkit, authored by James Hitchner; R. James Alerding; Joshua B. Angell; and Katherine E. Morris.
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Creating Visibility and Personal Brand Recognition In this article, Dr. Frederiksen provides seven branding tips for aspiring experts.
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Greater Disruption and Change Awaits the Financial Services Industry FinTech, or financial technology, has disrupted the financing industry. The FinTech revolution has not only changed the financial services industry, but it has also changed specific sectors, including: retail banking, lending and financing, payments and transfers, wealth and asset management, markets and exchanges, insurance, and blockchain transactions, just to name a few. It will continue to be vital for those who work in such sectors to learn how the FinTech revolution affects them immediately, as well as their future careers and business dealings. This article traces and history and shares the…
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Part I of II This is a two-part article. A variety of methods may be appropriate, depending on the context, to value contingent or disputed assets or claims in solvency opinions. These include probability discount, hindsight, and traditional valuation of future earnings. Other possibilities are the cost of insurance or Monte Carlo simulation. The authors discuss the cases and the uses and limitations of the various methods.