How do you measure the standard valuation of a golf course?  Do you take Donald Trump’s word for it?  CNBC examines Trump’s courses, what was reported, and the average for multiple golf course sales and revenue. Find out more on the CNBC article, click: Trump’s $550M golf empire may be in the weeds. ...

Are you aware of these interesting tips regarding Section 409A?  There may be more to it than you think.  Travis Harms, leading Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, answers eight questions to offer practical and comprehensive information about how Section 409A works. Read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting article, 8 Things You Need to Know Abo ...

Is There a Reason to Act Soon? Will the IRS Prevail this Time? The IRS is considering issuing proposed Section (SEC) 2704(b)(4) regulations to limit the availability of discounts for lack of control and lack of marketability. The article highlights the need to communicate with estate and gift tax attorneys that have discussed forming a FLP. While practitioners do not know what is being proposed, the §2704 l ...

Benefit or Boondoggle? Is the S corporation premium defensible? In this article, the author shares her views on this matter by answering the following questions: Should there be a premium applied to the S corporation whose value has been determined relative to the publicly traded C data by which it has been valued?” Are the assumptions we use to compare S and C attributes reasonable? Do they make sense? If ...

Some very interesting implications can be noted comparing two different companies using EBITDA.  Z. Christopher Mercer, Founder and CEO of Mercer Capital, looks at how relying on EBITDA as a measure of cash flow can impact the valuation analysis conclusion if other measures are not considered. Read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting article, Public Market Views ...

Key performance metrics for BDCs can help provide insight to the upcoming valuation marks.  Travis Harms, leading Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group, looks at fair value measurement in relation to credit spreads and what may be expected in the upcoming portfolio marks. Read more about the results of this report in the Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting article, Portfolio Marks: 2Q15 Outl ...

Practice Pointers from the Field How can a credentialed valuation analyst compete with a low-cost provider of valuation services performed by a professional lacking a business valuation credential? In this article, the author shares how he has succeeded conveying the value of using a credentialed and qualified business appraiser. ...

This blog discusses the four-step process for providing fair value marks for venture capital fund investments in pre-public companies: 1) examining the most recent financing round economics, 2) adjusting valuation inputs to the measurement date, 3) measuring fair value, and 4) reconciling  and testing for reasonableness.   Sujan Rajbhandary, vice president in Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation G ...

In this post, Samantha L. Albert, senior financial analyst with Mercer Capital, talks about the FASB’s Simplification Initiative which is designed to make small changes to GAAP that will reduce costs and complexity, while maintaining or improving the usefulness of financial statements. One potential change announced on May 21, 2015 is to ASC Topic 805. The FASB has proposed modifying standards related to ho ...

Cram Down Interest Rates (Part II of II) In this two-part series the author provides as overview of the issues confronted by courts and financial experts involved in a commercial real estate (CRE) bankruptcy. Read the first part in this series here. In this second part, the author continues the discussion regarding how a financial expert may go about to determine the appropriate interest rate for the underl ...

Cram Down Interest Rates (Part I of II) In this two-part series the author provides an overview of the issues confronted by courts and financial experts involved in a commercial real estate (CRE) bankruptcy. In this first part, the author discusses how a financial expert may go about to determine the appropriate interest rate for the underlying claims and analyze the CRE market. In the second part of this s ...

Fairness opinions are offered by financial advisors, primarily, investment bankers on behalf of the Board of Directors who rely on them when considering a significant corporate event. The fairness opinion says that the impending transaction is fair from a financial point of view of the subject company’s stakeholders. As Jeff K. Davis, Managing Director of Mercer Capital’s Financial Institutions Group, expla ...

Creating Value for Business Owners and Board Members In this article, Edward Mendlowitz, CPA, ABA, CFF. shares his views regarding the importance of having a business valued. He identifies 50 ways that a valuation professional can provide something far more valuable than a number. While the valuation profession is under pressure to reduce costs or prepare a report, the business owner is better served in the ...

Beware of the Limitations of Hospital Transaction Databases The market approach is one of three established valuation approaches. In this approach the valuation analyst will look for comparable companies. In this article the authors caution against the outright use of databases as a means of developing a Conclusion of Value for a hospital. Independent verification is time-consuming and essential. The author ...

A Former Insider’s Views on the Subject of Compensation What is reasonable compensation? In this article, Michael Gregory proposes that while the views of the U.S. Tax Court are well-understood, those of the IRS are not. In this article he underscores the importance of this matter to business valuation professionals. ...

Unique Situations from Common Assignments The assessment of interest rates and appraising the value of a business are assignments not limited to bankruptcy work alone. Most financial experts are familiar with the methods required to perform these tasks. Even in the application of these basic analyses, Chapter 11 bankruptcy may present unusual assignments. This article discusses two unique situations that ma ...

Build Your Own Industry Risk Premium – for Free There are a number of resources in the internet that business valuation analysts can use and incorporate into their practices. Best of all, these resources are free. With a little knowledge of excel, basic understanding of API and how it works, and knowing where to look, practitioners can readily use this information in a valuation engagement. What follows is ...

With Commentary by Original IRS Champion Leading valuation practitioners have proposed various models to guide practitioners valuing controlling and non-controlling interests. The published Tax Court cases—precedents—have favored the position of the IRS. The author suggests that is not surprising. In a soon-to-be released book, Michael Gregory highlights the importance of a new Job Aid focused on valuation ...

Managing Expectations of Sellers and Buyers Using the Right Standard of Value The author presents eight standards of value that a valuation analyst may need to consider and discuss with a client. Each standard has a different set of rules and the valuations can vary greatly. Valuing a business is an art – not a science – even though careful calculations are made to arrive at an appraisal of the business. Th ...

Privately held companies can expect the level of scrutiny over equity compensation-related valuation to increase with the size of the equity compensation grant. Getting the valuation process right the first time for equity compensation grant compliance is always the least expensive route says Sujan Rajbhandary, vice president, and senior member of Mercer Capital’s Financial Reporting Valuation Group. In thi ...