BV conference season is in full swing, so this issue has several reports from events in the U.S. and around the globe.

• Monte Carlo in BV: A Valuable Tool … in the Right Circumstances (BVR Editor). Sessions at all the major BV conferences this season examined how and when to use Monte Carlo to analyze how uncertainties influence value conclusions. BVR’s exclusive survey reveals who’s using it and in what circumstances.

• Highlights From the 2015 ASA Advanced BV Conference (BVR Editor). Valuation experts hit the jackpot in Las Vegas at the ASA’s annual event. There were some great sessions that offered some practical advice for a wide variety of valuation issues, from estate and gift tax audits to valuing complex equity.

• Interview With Soltan Aljorais From TAQEEM, the Saudi Authority of Accredited Valuers. Ray Moran, CEO of MG Valuation LLC, talks with Soltan Aljorais, a vice president of TAQEEM, a government regulator for business valuations in Saudi Arabia.

• Are International Standards for Intangible Assets Adapted to Most Companies? (Charles Markowicz, CPA, Belgium). This article examines the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and International Accounting Standard IAS 38, which deals with intangible assets—and Section 18 in particular, which is applicable to small and medium-sized enterprises, known as SMEs.

• Recap of The Appraisal Foundation’s Business Valuation Roundtable III (David S. Bunton). The president of The Appraisal Foundation provides an overview of this important event that demonstrates that global cooperation in the BV profession is becoming a reality.

• IVSC Meeting in Paris Reveals a Global Perspective on BV (BVR Editor). Insights and perceptions from valuators around the globe who attended the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) annual meeting in Paris.

• BVU Profile: Two-Year IRS Nightmare Caps Off Long Valuation Career (BVR Editor). An interview with Alfred M. King (King Valuation Services LLP) who started his BV career at American Appraisal in 1969. He went through an incredible ordeal with the IRS that can happen to anyone today.

• Study Reveals DCF Usage by Top M&A Practitioners (BVR Editor). Major investment banks routinely use DCF techniques to determine company value for M&A purposes, but it is “far from routine,” say the authors of a recent study.

• New Features: Ask the Experts and Tip of the Month. Valuation experts answer puzzling questions and give some practical advice on a wide variety of topics.

To read these articles—as well as digests of the latest court cases—see the December issue of Business Valuation Update (subscription required).