• Artificial Intelligence - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Leveraging AI in Business Valuations: Practical Applications, Ethical Boundaries, and Defensible Practice

    May 20, 2026

    The central question is not whether AI can be used in valuation work because it clearly can. Rather, the key question is how it should be used in a way that improves quality without compromising professional judgment, ethical obligations, or defensibility. The author shares his thoughts on the later question. Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly becoming part of the day-to-day workflow in business valuation. What began as a novelty for drafting and summarizing has matured into a practical tool that can assist valuation professionals with research, data organization, financial analysis, visual presentation, and administrative efficiency. The central question is not…

  • Unimpeachable Neutrality vs. Hardboiled Myths: A Direct Response to Hardball with Hitchner Issue 65/66
    Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Unimpeachable Neutrality vs. Hardboiled Myths: A Direct Response to Hardball with Hitchner Issue 65/66

    May 7, 2026

    James Hitchner’s March/April 2026 issue of Hardball with Hitchner, which opens with what it calls Myth 39, devoted a substantial part to criticizing my article “Unimpeachable Substance and Principles: Business Valuation Standards and the Substance and Principles of USPAP,” published in NACVA QuickRead on March 12, 2026. I appreciate the attention. Criticism from a visible platform is an opportunity, and I intend to use it fully. James Hitchner’s March/April 2026 issue of Hardball with Hitchner, which opens with what it calls Myth 39, devoted a substantial part to criticizing my article “Unimpeachable Substance and Principles: Business Valuation Standards and the…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Unimpeachable Substance and Principles: Business Valuation Standards and the Substance and Principles of USPAP

    March 11, 2026

    In this 25th article of the Unimpeachable Neutrality series, the author wants to make a case that he believes is both technically accurate and practically necessary: the business valuation standards of NACVA, ASA, and the AICPA do not merely conform to the substance and principles of USPAP in a passive or derivative sense. They are built upon those principles, share the same foundational architecture, and in the specific context of business valuation, complement USPAP’s framework with discipline-specific structure. The conversation that the valuation/appraisal profession needs to have is not about which standard is superior. It is about recognizing that the…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Unimpeachable Methodological Consistency: The Foundation of Unassailable Authority

    February 11, 2026

    When you sit in deposition or at trial, you can speak with absolute confidence about your methodology because it is not something you invented for this case. It is something you have applied in hundreds or thousands of cases. The best defense against aggressive cross-examination is not clever language or diplomatic positioning. It is methodological consistency applied with rigor. In this 24th article of the Unimpeachable Neutrality series, the author addresses something that has become increasingly important as technology changes the nature of expert testimony: the relationship between consistency, methodology, and credibility. The best defense against aggressive cross-examination is not…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    AI, Ethics, and Standards in Valuation Practice: Guidance for a Rapidly Changing Landscape

    January 21, 2026

    Confidentiality remains the first and most immediate area of professional risk. Many AI tools store inputs, transmit data to outside servers, or use information to train future models. For valuation professionals handling confidential data, the stakes are high. The author shares how to use AI and adhere to professional and ethical standards. Artificial intelligence (AI) has rapidly become part of the daily toolkit for many valuation and financial forensic professionals. Whether used for data cleanup, modeling assistance, industry research, or drafting support, AI can reduce time spent on lower-value tasks and help analysts focus on judgment, interpretation, and communication. If…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Clients Turning to AI: Evaluating Your Work Product and Professional Services

    October 1, 2025

    The author states that over the past year, he has seen clients use AI tools to “check” his work, draft their own valuation commentary, and even generate critique his reports. While he welcomes their curiosity, some encounters have been alarming. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer just a topic for webinars or conference panels. It is now part of daily client interactions. Over the past year, I have seen clients use AI tools to “check” my work, draft their own valuation commentary, and even generate critiques of my reports. While I welcome curiosity, some encounters have been alarming. Ready or…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    The Unimpeachable Rebuttal 2.0: Pearls Clutched, Loaded, and Now AI-Augmented

    September 17, 2025

    The hired guns now have AI, and they are even more convincing at making the truth sound like a lie and a lie sound like the gospel. This 23rd article in the Unimpeachable Neutrality Series revisits and revolutionizes the art of the rebuttal in an age where AI has become both sword and shield in the expert witness arena. This 23rd article in the Unimpeachable Neutrality Series revisits and revolutionizes the art of the rebuttal in an age where artificial intelligence (AI) has become both sword and shield in the expert witness arena. Last month, I received what can only…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Unimpeachable AI Guardrails: Ethical AI Parameters for Valuation Professionals

    July 23, 2025

    In the world of valuation, particularly at the intersection of professional judgement and AI, this 21st article of the Unimpeachable Neutrality Series begs the question now facing us: what kind of AI guardrails should exist? And how do we keep them from becoming runaway lanes, or worse, launchpads, into unintended consequences? There is something charming about a good guardrail. Whether you are navigating the hairpin curves of a West Virginia backroad or the shifting terrain of emerging technologies, there is comfort in knowing you will not plummet into the ravine of professional ruin, so long as the guardrail holds. This…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Unimpeachable Certainty in the Age of Digital Distortion and Artificial Intelligence: Trust but Authenticate

    May 21, 2025

    This 20th article in the Unimpeachable Neutrality series explores why and how valuation and forensic accounting experts may need to evolve toward a new standard: unimpeachable certainty. Neutrality, once the highest standard of expert credibility, must now be supplemented with verifiable authentication practices to ensure that expert conclusions are not built upon fabricated realities. Neutrality without authentication has become not a virtue, but a risk; a structural weakness that can be exploited. This evolution marks a pivotal moment for our profession. Those who remain static, clinging to an outdated conception of unimpeachability, will find themselves undermined not by cross-examination, but…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Unimpeachably Neutral Professional Judgment: Is AI the Death of Professional Judgment or its Reincarnation

    March 19, 2025

    Only with careful oversight and the application of seasoned professional judgment can AI deliver results that are not only accurate but also defensible and unimpeachably neutral. This article in the Unimpeachable Neutrality Series explores the indispensable role of professional judgment, particularly as it intertwines with the capabilities of AI. The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought a seismic shift to the field of valuation and forensic accounting. Data that once required weeks of meticulous analysis can now be processed in mere minutes. While AI’s outputs relative to financial modelling can be impressive, their reliability hinges on the neutrality and…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story

    Unimpeachable 10 Commandments 2.0

    September 18, 2024

    Unimpeachable Neutrality in the Age of Artificial Intelligence The world of economic damage and business valuation is evolving rapidly, with artificial intelligence (AI) poised to become an indispensable tool for financial expert witnesses. As with any technological advancement, its use and implementation with regards to expert opinions, conclusions, and testimony must be handled with unimpeachable neutrality, a hallmark of credibility in the courtroom. This 19th article of the Unimpeachable Neutrality Series explores how financial experts can integrate AI into their practice while maintaining unimpeachable neutrality, integrity, reliability, and professionalism. The world of economic damage and business valuation is evolving rapidly, with…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Pressures to Step-up Basis Leads to an Ethics Question

    December 13, 2023

    Ethical and Practical Implications Too many appraisers omit the contingent BIGL in their appraisals. It certainly is easier to yield to the pressure of estate attorneys, CPAs, and the IRS on this point, but in light of the evidence for inclusion, is this the ethical path? The author discusses the merits and ethics of including the BIGL. Too many appraisers omit the contingent built-in capital gain tax liability (BIGL) in their appraisals. It certainly is easier to yield to the pressure of estate attorneys, CPAs, and the IRS on this point, but in light of the evidence for inclusion, is…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Unimpeachable Scope

    April 19, 2023

    A Synopsis of Valuation Brief 1 “Understanding the Differences: Conclusion of Value vs. Value Calculations” Valuation Brief 1, “Understanding the Differences: Conclusion of Value vs. Value Calculations” attempts to unpack the differences between that which is a conclusion of value and that which is not. In this 14th article of the unimpeachable neutrality series, the author provides a synopsis of the key takeaways from the inaugural valuation brief for which he had the pleasure of being a co-author. Society has evolved and perhaps devolved such that labels are becoming increasingly more important. From preferred pronouns to politically correct labels that…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Unimpeachable Neutrality Redefined

    March 15, 2023

    New Year, Neutrality It is incumbent upon those who attempt to become or remain as “thought leaders” to sometimes put some thought into what is written. This said, this 13th article of the Unimpeachable Neutrality Series will cover some of the basics of what exactly “unimpeachable neutrality” is and how it is just as valuable and necessary in 2023. I received a phone call from a distressed member the other day. I could tell they were younger, maybe late 20s. They described a situation that they could not define but I was very familiar with. The member described being in…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Unimpeachable Mechanisms of Compliance—Sustainable Standard Setting in the Wake of the Woke

    October 25, 2022

    Conclusory Conclusions and Opinionated Opinions Tests of Time While there is usually more than one reason that something bad occurs, it is often standard setters or practitioners that are rightfully or wrongfully accused of actions or inactions that may or do have a detrimental impact on an industry, case, business, or even members of a protected class. This twelfth article of the unimpeachable neutrality series will further define the newly thingified concept of a “mechanism of compliance” and emphasize why standard setters, parents, and employers should never make a rule without a provable, measurable, and defendable mechanism of compliance. I…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    My Unimpeachably Abductive Inference

    September 7, 2022

    Conclusory Conclusions and Opinionated Opinions Tests of Time The current valuation environment tends to be more about supporting the conclusion of value based upon the chosen approach and methodology with consideration of all three approach to business valuation far too often involving little more than the analyst placing a wet finger in the air and saying “ah yes, a discounted cash flow.” This eleventh article of the Unimpeachable Neutrality series discusses the need for abductive inferences when valuing a business and delineates conclusory conclusions, opinionated opinions, and concluded opinions of value. I have a business that I would like to…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    FAQ Interpretations

    January 20, 2021

    Non-Litigation #2 and Litigation #4 The NACVA’s Standards Board was formed to continually review the organizations’ standards and to ensure that the NACVA’s Professional Standards remain up to date, relevant, and relatively consistent with the standards of the other professional organizations. This article addresses the second Non-Litigation and the fourth Litigation FAQ Interpretations published by the NACVA. [su_pullquote align=”right”]Resources: NACVA Professional Standards Standards FAQ Library [/su_pullquote] Business valuation/appraisal standards are promulgated by different business appraisal organizations. The NACVA’s Standards Board was formed to continually review the organizations’ standards and to ensure that the NACVA’s Professional Standards remain up to date,…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    Data Reliability Issues

    November 4, 2020

    When is there a Duty to Corroborate Data? NACVA’s Standards Board (SDB) was formed in 2016 with the purpose to promulgate NACVA’s Standards, including the development of interpretations, amendments, restatements, and new releases of NACVA’s Standards as deemed necessary and prudent. While being able to influence the very rule governing one’s profession is an astute honor, the most rewarding role performed by the SDB is that of responding to questions that a member has asked or issues they are dealing with. This article addresses data reliability questions and issues, and how it relates to the NACVA standards. NACVA’s Standards Board…

  • Litigation Consulting - QuickRead Top Story

    How Can I Tell the Right One?

    July 24, 2019

    Selecting a Mediator is More Important Than Ever, Or? Mediation is the primary case management device used by the courts to resolve disputes, and the mediation process is frequently included in the dispute resolution section of most contracts. In some situations, mediation is even mandatory. What is interesting to note is that there are no uniform, national standards for training or regulating mediators. Some courts have standards for mediators on their rosters, but private practice mediators are virtually unregulated. Unfortunately, mediation has not met the test of a true profession. In this article, the author shares questions to consider asking…

  • QuickRead Top Story - Valuation/Appraisal

    An Unimpeachably Neutral Message from the Standards Board Chair

    July 17, 2019

    A Neutral Approach to Unimpeachable Standards C. Zachary Meyers, CPA. CVA, the author of this article, is NACVA’s Standards Board (SDB) Chair. The SDB was formed in 2016. The SDB’s purpose is to promulgate NACVA’s Standards, including the development of interpretations, amendments, restatements, and new releases of NACVA’s Standards as deemed necessary and prudent. While being able to influence the very rule governing one’s profession is an astute honor, the most rewarding role performed by the SDB is that of responding to questions that a member has asked or issue they are dealing with. This article discusses how standards must…