On Business Valuation The effects of inflation on consumers’ spending and psyche are well-known. The difficulties each causes in day-to-day life are often discussed. Inflation has affected everything from the cost of transportation to the cost of food and housing. What is less discussed, however, is how the current inflationary period is affecting small business owners and their companies. In this article t ...

A Review of the Basics for Lost Profits (Part II) In this second part of our series reviewing the basics for lost profits, we will contrast the differences between valuing a lost business and calculating an ongoing business’s lost profits. Because many experts calculating lost profits also provide business valuations, both in and out of litigation, it is good to be reminded of the similarities and differenc ...

the Value of a Business Buyers look at earnings as a primary driver of value. There are many other factors such as strategic value, competitive position, branding, secret processes, and cost to duplicate. There are also many other factors, some not so evident or obvious, some intangible and some in the “good feelings” attitude about the business or its prospects. At the end of the day, it is sometimes hard ...

On the Valuation of Small Businesses What is the impact of coronavirus on small businesses? What should valuation analysts consider in light of the stock market downfall when valuing a small business. The author shares his thoughts on the impact of coronavirus when valuing small businesses. The coronavirus pandemic is wrecking havoc on the global economy as we have seen last week with the stock market crash ...

Some baby boomers are taking out loans or using their retirement savings to help fund their children's education. This, in turn, is contributing to the significant debt burden facing some families headed by people over 60. To read the full article in Think Advisor, click: Grappling with the College Debt Burden. ...

Be a Trusted Advisor Valuation analysts are in a unique position to help their clients. Most business owners have never looked at their business the way a valuation professional does. If the valuation analyst does a yearly check-up or checks in with their clients but does not include a discussion or a strategy to build value in their business, perhaps it should. This is an opportunity to expand the work bas ...

and its Application to Enterprise Valuation The value of a firm must equal the value of the claims on its assets. In practice, this is generally expressed as the value FIRM = value DEBT + value EQUITY. Similarly, in a balance sheet prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), assets = liabilities and equity. By comparison, an economic balance sheet is constructed using market ...

Ascertaining the Financial Status of a Business in a Few Quick Glances The 60-Second Method is a system of ascertaining the financial status of a business or other entity in a few quick glances. It is a training tool that can be used to demonstrate how financial analysis works, or instruct decision-makers beginning to read and understand financial statement content. ...

The inauguration of a new POTUS is now behind us.  Time, then, to add to the cacophony of pop-prognostications.  This blog post will make broad observations regarding potential changes to select corporate tax and other pro-growth economic policies in hopes of teasing out inferences for inputs to a basic valuation framework. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: Corpor ...

The issue of dividends and dividend policy is of great significance to owners of closely held and family businesses and deserves considered attention.  This highly informative blog is excerpted from Z. Christopher Mercer’s (founder and chief executive officer of Mercer Capital) newest book: Unlocking Private Company Wealth. To read the full article in Mercer Capital's Financial Reporting Blog, click: An Int ...

The Ongoing Research and Analysis Relating to the S Corporation Valuation Puzzle What premium, if any, should S Corporations command? How reliable are the current models? How reliable is the evidence that supports the position of the leading U.S. Tax Court cases? What should valuation analysts and consultants consider as they advise newly formed corporations considering making the S election and S corporati ...

When Performing a Business Valuation Earnings are not always objective and valuations apply a multiple to earnings to determine a company’s value. The elements making up a company’s valuation involve determining normalized earnings, a decision whether income taxes would be applied, and the capitalization rate to be used to get the value. There are also other factors, but this article looks at the quality of ...

This past summer, the firm of Pluris Valuation Advisors LLC released a detailed white paper on the valuation of life insurance. According to the authors, when valuing life insurance or life insurance-linked instruments such as split-dollar collateral assignment receivables or split-dollar promissory notes, there are only three elements of Fair Market Value. These include: Illustrations from the insurance co ...

Four things valuators should know about medical claims and coding While all valuators need to be able to cite specific factors considered in the determination of fair market value, many times the measures selected could be applied to a variety of industries. In this first of a two-part series, Jeffry Moffatt examines why revenue is most often a primary area of interest for valuation, because without revenue ...

Recent Cases Consider: Fair Market Value in Arkansas, Equalization Payments and Healthcare Credits in Iowa, and Valuations Based on Future Cash Flow in Louisiana Judge Wiggins in Iowa rules In re Marriage of McDermott on equalization payments and tax credits for health insurance payments.  In Louisiana, Judge Williams finds a valuation in Fancher v. Prudhomme invalid since it was based on assumed cash flow— ...

Past Performance is No Longer a Viable Valuation Tactic: Learn to Anticipate Future Prospects with Data Mining, Proprietary Benchmark Techniques, and a Close Look at Both Cash Flow and Capital Expenditures.    Caleb Slabbert, writing at VentureCapital.org, which bills itself as a non-profit organization that has been "a premier resource for both entrepreneurs seeking funding and for investors who want to he ...

Particularly When Valuing Companies with Substantial Foreign Operations, Business Valuation Analysts Know That Country-Specific Input Is Critical  David Foster at BVWire News reports that in additional to his general data update for 2013, Prof. Aswath Damodaran (NYU Stern School of Business) provides a list of country default spreads and risk premiums.  Here's the professor's assessment: ...

Cash Flow is the Most Important Financial Item for a Small Business Owners to Pay Attention To. Here's How to Speed it Up.   Cash flow--how cash flows through your organization from sale to invoice to receipt--is the lifeblood of a small company, writes Eric V. Holtzclaw at Inc.com.  And speeding up your cash flow allows you to do more and gives your company more stability.  Here are seven tips:   ...

Cases in Ohio, Delaware Assess Acquisition Share Value, Family Business In Iacampo v. Oliver Iacampo, the Ohio Court of Appeals rules on the appropriate use of experts in valuing a family business, the nature of passive income, and financial help from the wife’s parents. In Delaware,  Gaerreald v. Just Care, Inc. turns on proper methods for determining share value, the value of an expert opinion, and defere ...

Capitalized Earnings: When are the Earnings Stabilized? When you're doing a business valuation, should you use a Capitalization of Earnings/Cash Flows? Or should you use a Discounted Earnings/Cash Flow method? Here's a rule of thumb: If the benefit stream will be constant over time, choose the Capitalized Earnings/Cash Flows. Richard Claywell explains. ...