The New Jersey CPA Society held its Business Valuation and Litigation Services Conference last week, and event chair Don DeGrazia (Gold Gerstein Group LLC) put together an excellent program of cutting-edge and relevant topics. Here are just a few takeaways:

• Inflation appears to be moderating, the Fed will soon rein in its stimulus efforts, we’re a “long way” from interest rates being raised, and the underlying drivers of consumer confidence are in “pretty good shape”;
• COVID-19 will never be totally “over” because pandemics becomes endemic (e.g., the 1918 Spanish flu is still with us);
• New healthcare regs on the Stark Law confirm that the use of compensation surveys for determining the fair market value of physician compensation is on its way out;
• There is a growing opportunity to act as a court-appointed neutral in valuation disputes, but there are some definite pitfalls;
• Read the Nelson Tax Court case—it “has it all” in terms of valuation issues (analysis available at BVLaw);
• The company-specific risk premium (CSRP) for cannabis firms seems to have tempered—it was in the 30%-to-40% range a few years ago, but a 2020 engagement shows a 15% CSRP (30% cost of equity);
• Seventy-five percent of special-purpose acquisition companies (SPACS) are trading below their listing price after announcing deals (after nearly always rising), while 95% that have not announced deals are trading below; and
• A judge advises that, if you make an error in your valuation report, fess up to it immediately—if it comes out on cross, your credibility takes a huge hit.

Full coverage of the conference will be in the November issue of Business Valuation Update.