Credit ratings issues by Moody’s, Fitch and the like are a good place to start when performing a discount rate estimation for the contractual cash flow method, but they are not something to hang your hat on, said Tom Krasner (Concise Capital Management) in yesterday’s session “Valuation of Debt – Financial Reporting and Market Considerations” at the ASA/CICBV Business Valuation Conference in Miami.  “We spend about 10 seconds on credit ratings then roll up our sleeves and get to work.  Credit ratings have the reputation of being conservative and behind the times.  As an appraiser you want a view of the future: credit rating agencies have a view of the past,” advised Krasner.