To Create a Visual Picture Every profession has its own unique vocabulary, and although everyone in the field understands the terms or abbreviations, the public most likely does not. An easy way to help people understand technical terms or a profession's distinctive vocabulary is to create a “word picture” that links that unique word to some everyday idea or object. The author suggests that metaphors and si ...

Changing Assignments from Fairness Opinion to Business Valuation Commercial damages matters can be challenging and require a flexible mind when “wrapping your brain” around the issues and facts of a particular case. Beginning in the first quarter of 2019 and running through October 2020, I had an assignment which began with a simple fairness opinion letter and ended with my testifying at trial to defend my ...

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 ...

In this second part of a two-part series, the authors discuss why and when the highest and best use standard should apply. ...

Traditional valuation methodologies have relied upon the analysis of historical accounting and other data as predictive of future performance and value. However, this may not hold true with every economy, industry, or even every enterprise within an industry, over time. For example, the turbulent status of the healthcare industry over the last five decades, since the passage of Medicare in the 1960s, has in ...

The “Market” is Not Always Right When it Comes to Value, Especially in M&A Transactions The mergers and acquisitions market began a slow recovery this last year after a sharp downturn in 2009. Was the slowdown caused by banks reducing lending activity, cash hoarding by businesses, economic uncertainty, or the simple failure of buyers and seller to agree upon price? Michael Blake takes a look at how valu ...