Lance Hall, ASA, Moderator

Lance Hall, ASA, co-founded FMV Opinions, Inc. in 1991. Lance specializes in securities valuation and is a widely recognized expert in securities design, fractional interests in real estate, minority interest discounts, Rule 144 and other restricted securities. He has extensive experience with issues of solvency, fairness and employee stock ownership plans.

As the principal Managing Director at FMV, Lance manages the firm’s Irvine, California Office. He has performed or managed valuations for individuals and businesses, both private and public, covering a wide range of industries. Because of his expertise, Lance is frequently consulted by Federal agencies, such as the IRS. He has provided expert testimony in litigation regarding business valuation on numerous occasions including such landmark cases as Shackelford v. The United States of America, which was upheld in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Lance is a prolific writer and recently published his latest article, titled “Can a Fairness Opinion Protect the Board Against Personal Liability?” in The Corporate Board’s January/February 2004 issue. His articles have frequently appeared in publications such as Estate Planning, Real Estate Taxation, Tax Notes/ Tax Analysts, TAXES: The Tax Magazine, Trusts & Estates, and many others. Lance is also on the Advisory Board for Valuation Strategies magazine.

A frequent speaker at venues throughout the United States, Lance has the opportunity to inform and educate business owners, professional advisors and other industry professionals on the latest developments in business valuation and court decisions regarding valuation issues. Lance has recently spoken to business valuation industry groups such as the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts and the Institute of Business Appraisers and professional groups such as the Practising Law Institute, California Society of CPA’s, Estate Planning Councils, Estate Counselors Forum and the USC Law School. Lance has taught business valuation courses for the California CPA Foundation and continuing education classes for the California Bar Association.

Lance received his Masters in Business Administration from Brigham Young University and has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Finance from the University of North Texas. He is a member of the American Society of Appraisers.

Ashok Abbott, Ph.D., Speaker

Ashok B. Abbott is Associate professor of Finance at West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia. He has also taught at the Graduate school of Credit and Financial Management held at Dartmouth and Stanford University.

Professor Abbott received his M.B.A. (Finance) at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (VPI&SU), Blacksburg, VA, in 1984, followed by a Ph.D. in finance, also at VPI&SU, in 1987. His Ph.D. dissertation title was "The valuation effects of tax legislation in corporate sell-offs". Professor Abbott has over twenty years of experience in evaluation of businesses as a senior bank lender and as a business appraiser. He is a consultant to valuation firms in the areas of DLOL and DLOM. ( S&P, Duff and Phelps, Willamette) Small Business Administration
recognized Professor Abbott as the Small Business Advocate-Journalist for the year 2002.

He has received frequent recognition and awards for his teaching. Best Teacher Award College of Business 1993, Best Teacher Award Division of Economics and Finance 1995, and Lifetime Investment Award ( Best Teacher Award) given by Executive MBA graduating Class 1999. Professor Abbott has published extensively in scholarly research journals and made presentations at national and international conferences, some recent ones pertaining to BV discipline include:
Untangling the Web of Discounts: Marketability, Liquidity, and Control Issues in Valuation”, Valuation Strategies, August 2004; Strategic Flexibility and Firm Performance: The Case of US Based Transnational corporations, Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management, 2003 Vol4, Nos. 1&2, pp1-8 (lead article), with Kunal Banerji; Discount for lack of marketability: evidence from NASDAQ delistings; Business Valuation Review, December 2003; New Flexible Paradigms in Equity Valuation: Knowledge Based Enterprises; Global Journal of Flexible Systems Management- 2001 Vol 2. No.1; Role of liquidity in Asset Pricing",
proceedings of International Conference on Business and Finance, December 2004, Hyderabad, India; Untangling the Web of Discounts: Marketability, Liquidity, and Control Issues in Valuation,proceedings of Institute of Business Appraisers Meeting, Las Vegas, June 2004; and Re-examining the Risk and Return effects of Joint Ventures, proceedings of Hawaii International Conference on Business” Honolulu, June 2004, with Tuncer Gocman

Espen Robak, CFA, Speaker

Espen Robak , CFA, is a Senior Vice President at FMV Opinions, Inc. and directs the firm's restricted stock and blockage discount practice. The author of “Determining Lack of Marketability Discounts” and The FMV Restricted Stock Study, Mr. Robak has been responsible for overseeing the firm's research on lack of marketability discounts for half a decade.

Mr. Robak also oversees FMV's Intangible Asset valuation practice. Since joining FMV in 1994, he has been responsible for the valuation of the intellectual properties and securities of both private and public companies in a wide array of industries, including numerous early-stage companies. Mr. Robak's intangible asset valuation experience encompasses the valuation of trademarks, patents, copyrights, covenants not-to-compete, and other assets for litigation, tax, or accounting purposes. His corporate valuation experience encompasses complex valuation assignments involving the allocation of value between several classes of common, preferred, and convertible preferred stock; and the valuation of derivative and hybrid securities. Mr. Robak has provided expert testimony and litigation consulting regarding valuation. In addition, he has published several articles and speaks regularly on valuation topics

Mr. Robak has a Masters in Business Administration and a Bachelor of Sciences degree from the University of Oregon. He also earned the Chartered Financial Analyst designation and is a candidate member of the American Society of Appraisers. Prior to joining FMV, Mr. Robak was an Account Representative for BankAmerica Corp. in Seattle, Washington, where his responsibilities included financial analysis of businesses for lending purposes.