AICPA BV conference buzz

BVWire editors attended the recent AICPA Forensic & Valuation Services Conference 2013 in Las Vegas. Nearly 1,000 attendees were in Sin City hitting the jackpot with some great sessions. Here are a few golden nuggets we’ve picked up.

Shorter valuation reports are now in vogue, it was explained in one session. A show of hands of session attendees found that 50 pages was the average length. The big valuation firms seem to be producing the shorter reports, and the small firms are turning out the 150-page tomes.

Automatic IRS audits can be triggered when the same firm does tax and valuation work. For example, IRS agents in some areas will pull an estate and gift tax return prepared by the same firm that does an attached valuation. Session members were polled, and 60% said their firm does both. Rethink this strategy as it adds risk to clients.

More calculation reports are being ordered and used for purposes not intended by the standards. For instance, attorneys are ordering them to be attached to estate and gift tax returns because they’re cheaper than full reports. BV standards envision their use in limited circumstances, but not litigation. If a calculation report ends up in court or in an IRS audit, you could have a disaster.

Goodwill impairment was the subject of a lot of chatter as the final AICPA Goodwill Impairment Guide has just been released in e-book format (print version coming in December).

Future issues of BVWire will include more AICPA FVS conference coverage.