College students from across the country will compete in the upcoming Business Valuation Challenge hosted by Georgia State University. There are 24 first-come-first-serve slots, and registrations are due September 15. BV firms can sponsor students, and it's a great place for you to scope out new talent. Read more >>

The Treasury has released long-awaited proposed IRC Section 2704 regulations designed to curb estate valuation discounts. It appears that the proposed regulations eliminate almost all minority discounts for closely held entity interests, including operating businesses owned by a family. The proposed regs have triggered a strong response from the valuation community, legal profession, and others. Read more >>

A number of leading valuation experts have called for the profession to speak with one voice and eliminate the confusion over the use of discounts. One valuation expert offers up some nomenclature and—more importantly—a framework that he hopes will help with this thorny issue. Read more >>

The Brexit vote reinforces the need for internal consistency between the elements of cost of capital and the current economic environment, according to leading global valuation experts and finance professors. Also, there may be a “new normal” in terms of interest rates, risk premiums, and growth. Read more >>

You now have until August 24 to comment on two important exposure drafts that relate to the ongoing fair value quality initiative (FVQI) designed to improve financial reporting valuations for U.S. publicly traded companies. Read more >>

If the jury had sided with the plaintiff in the Led Zeppelin "Stairway to Heaven" case, it would have had to carve out the value of the riff that only forms part of the song. BVWire asked Michael Pellegrino (Pellegrino & Associates), a valuation expert (and musician) who specializes in intellectual property, for some insights into some of the thoughts behind how this would have been determined Read more >>

At the recent NYSSCPA business valuation conference in New York City, Daniel Van Vleet (Stout Risius Ross) told the audience that the Van Vleet model (S corporation economic adjustment model) is being used for the first time in a pending U.S. Tax Court case. What’s more, both the IRS and the taxpayer are using it in this case, says Van Vleet. Read more >>

Shannon Pratt, Roger Grabowski, Jim Hitchner, Nancy Fannon, and the Honorable Judge David Laro of the Tax Court are just a few of valuation thought leaders dubbed by NACVA as “industry titans” who gave presentations at the organization’s 25th anniversary conference in San Diego Read more >>

Last year, the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) issued for public comment a staff consultation paper on potential standard-setting activities related to the auditor using the work of specialists, including valuation professionals. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is conducting a survey on the role of specialists in developing and evaluating the fair value estimates used in audited financial statements. This research may help in the PCAOB’s standard setting in this regard. Read more >>

Join your peers in responding to BVR’s Firm Economics Study, to see how growth and change is accelerating in the business valuation profession. Read more >>

There was record attendance at the ASA/USC 11th Annual Fair Value Conference in Los Angeles. BVWire was there and here are a few takeaways from some of the sessions, all of which were excellent. Read more >>

BVWire provides a few key takeaways from the recent annual business valuation conference of the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA) in New York City. Read more >>

The ASA, AICPA, and RICS have issued two exposure drafts for public comment that relate to the ongoing initiative to improve the quality of financial reporting valuations for U.S. publicly traded companies. Comments are due June 24. Read more >>

Compensation forfeiture is an option that damages plaintiffs can seek that is not difficult or expensive to prove--plus it can be “stacked” onto other remedies. Read more >>

A number of M&A records were broken in 2015, including net M&A announcements (12,012), $100 million-plus deals (1,197), cash payments (78%), average P/E offered (29.6), and more, according to the 2016 Mergerstat Review. Read more >>

Although ESOP valuation experts have been exempted from the DOL’s final fiduciary rules, it’s still not safe to go back into the water, experts say. Read more >>

John Finnerty (Alix Partners) has developed a new version of his average-strike put option DLOM model that can be generalized to accommodate a restriction period of any particular fixed length. He presented the new model during a BVR webinar and asked the audience for comments and suggestions. He would also like some real data for testing purposes. Read more >>

A Florida appeals court examines the issue of whether the increased value of stock from a company for which the owning spouse works can be a marital asset and subject to distribution. Read more >>

A survey is open for respondents to indicate which industries they would like to see analyzed for economic causal factors and their elasticities in order to better determine passive appreciation in business assets in a divorce context. The resulting analyses will be published. Read more >>

A prior post that highlighted the article “NY’s Unfair Application of Shareholder-Level Marketability Discounts,” written by Gil Matthews and Michelle Patterson (both with Sutter Securities) has sparked calls for the BV profession to speak with “one clear voice” on this issue. Read more >>