During preparation as an expert witness for trial, it’s crucial to anticipate the potential strategy and line of questioning of the opposing counsel. Many expert witnesses role-play the scenario in advance with a colleague standing in for the attorney to uncover hidden weaknesses in their preparation and to quell nerves. While years of acting as an expert witness can leave one feeling like they’ve se ...

  Two CPAs in Washington D.C. have filed a class action lawsuit against the IRS for requiring a yearly registration and related fee in order to maintain a preparer tax identification number (PTIN). The suit, which involves 700,000 practitioners, seeks to recover $150 million in fees that the IRS has collected since the regulation passed in 2010. Four years ago, the IRS put the new rule into effect as a ...

  In spite of the current economic climate, a recent survey from the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) showed that 54 percent of valuation professionals expected a 10 to 50 percent increase in the demand for their services over the next two to five years. These results are part of the 2014 AICPA Survey on International Trends in Forensic and Valuation Services. Forensic experts were even more optimist ...

Business valuation in divorce In this article, Brian Murray examines the risks taken by clients when valuators are hired to “get the numbers” needed to support a desired outcome in divorce proceedings. In most cases, such a preplanned agenda backfires and creates more problems in the end. ...

With the number of retirements in the accounting profession expected to soar over the next decade, many foresee a wave of CPA firm sales happening at the same time.  Anticipating the trend, the Journal of Accountancy has offered up its method of valuing a CPA firm, but the method and results differ depending on whether an external transaction or internal transfer is involved.  Of particular concern is the s ...

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) reports that in less than five years, 75 percent of all CPAs will be at or very near retirement age. Naturally, there’s an undercurrent of panic in the profession. Small and midsize firm owners are reluctant to sell to large operations, not to mention the pain of watching what they’ve spent a lifetime to create simply disappear. There’s also the ...

It’s Responsible and Efficient to Begin Appraisals by Granting Certain Assumptions and Respecting Precedent. Here’s Why. All kinds of news, findings, and rulings come out that might affect the work of financial consultants and appraisers every day. When can you know when a precedent is important or something you can ignore? Or, put another way: what information is most important to pay attention to? Rand Cu ...

The Thought of Every Employee Working Together with a Shared Vision of Business Success is a Dream Situation for Companies.  Here's How to Make it Happen.  Gary Davie Friday at Management Today weighs in on how in 2012 the U.K. government (Management Today is UK-based) announced its support for employee ownership, recognizing its ability to promote long-term thinking and growth.  Since then, a number of leg ...

There Are All Kinds of Different Standards to Consider In Sophisticated Valuations. Here are Some Tips. Control premiums are difficult to calculate.  Why?  Because there are so many variables. You may need to adjust earnings to reflect a control value (i.e., restating owner’s compensation and adjusting discretionary expenses). But wait: There’s more!  There are minority earnings. And a variety of people to ...

Last Month’s Fiscal Cliff Legislation Included Lots of Tax Provisions. But Not Just for Individuals — There Are Tax-Saving Breaks for Businesses Too.  Here’s What You Need to Know. Bill Bischoff at The Wall Street Journal Small Business Blog reports that last month's fiscal cliff legislation included some important tax breaks for individuals; a longer version of his article appears at MarketWatch.  Here's t ...

Want to Develop and Publish a Mobile App?  Demand is Real and Growing.  A Compelling Idea, Solid Plan, and Choice of App Marketplace are Key.  Jeffrey Drew at The Journal of Accountancy reports that with the digital delivery of products and services emerging as a top technology trend, CPAs are beginning to explore the development of mobile apps. What they have found so far is that the path to the Apple App ...

Consider Three Types of Private Preferred Stock Transactions, Each with Varying Degrees of Relevance to an Indication of Fair Value: Simple, Strategic, and Tranched Preferred Financing Last year, the AICPA issued guidance on evaluating private transactions with regards to their relevance in estimating the Fair Value of other securities within an enterprise via the back-solve method. The McLean Valuation Ser ...

The IRS Has a Nationwide Organization of Approximately 2,000 Taxpayer Advocates to Help U.S. Individual and Business Taxpayers Resolve Problems.   Here's How It Can Help Advisors and Your Clients.  Nina E. Olson is the IRS’s National Taxpayer Advocate. Since 2001, she has led the Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS), a nationwide organization of approximately 2,000 taxpayer advocates who help U.S. individual and ...

Few Business Owners Seem to Even Know How to Make a Good Guess at What Their Business is Worth.  NY Times Introduces Technology to Help—and Certified Advisers Provide Extra Value.  Mark Cohen, at The New York Times Small Business Guide, reports:  "At 53, Joe Ritz is old enough to remember a time when many of the classic cars that now pull into his specialized repair shop were new. “It’s one field where it p ...

There Are Different Standards. They Have Different Places in Various Appraisals. Here’s Why. Jim Hitchner considers various responses to the query:  “When valuing an operating company, is it necessary to mention USPAP in addition to SSVS 1 when talking about the standards adhered to?”  Good question. There were lots of answers from various valuators in a recent discussion.  Here’s Jim’s take on it all. ...

The Wall Street Journal Recounts What the IRS Advises:  Moves to Make as April Grows Near April deadlines may not be that far way,  but some Americans still haven’t even rounded up their W2s, the Wall Street Journal noted in a (just-before-deadline) filing last year.   Acknowledging the tax procrastination is a national pastime, the Internal Revenue Service issued some tips and a series of videos to help la ...

Beyond The Fiscal Cliff:  Details to Act On Gail Perry at Accounting Web introduces a set of articles on the effect of the "fiscal cliff." A first article – New Tax Law Emerges Beyond the Fiscal Cliff – provides an overview of the key tax provisions that will affect your individual and business clients. It's followed by coverage of how the new law will impact federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping ta ...

Consider Lifetime Client Value, Cost of Client Acquisition, and Retention Rate Is your CPA firm making the most of current relationships and doing all it can to expand into new ones?   While there are many metrics CPA firms use to evaluate quantitative performance, AICPA Insights suggests 12 metrics than can provide more qualitative feedback. These metrics can help CPA firms measure their reach with clients ...

A Balance of Valuation and Litigation Work; Secrets to Enhanced Productivity Marcie Bour, Founder and President of the Florida Business Valuation Group, offers tips and strategies on time management, favorite appraisal tools, marketing strategies, the benefits of client diversification, and the value of networking and seeking out mentors. ...

Charles Green has posted an interesting thought-piece over at the Trusted Advisor site: When clients don’t buy what a CPA firm is selling, it’s unlikely that they don’t want what you’re selling. More likely it’s that they’re not buying how the service is being sold. For example, a potential client is talking with several accounting firms about a significant assignment. One firm has expertise in that area an ...