We recently reported on a case in which annotated expert draft reports were subject to discovery notwithstanding Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 26(b)(4). Valuation professionals who frequently work on federal cases also need to know that Rule 26 does not protect expert notes and nonattorney communication, as an important 11th Circuit ruling explains. Read more >>

In an estate and gift tax case, the U.S. Tax Court recently sided with the Internal Revenue Service when the court found the value of assets transferred from the decedent to a family limited partnership was includible in the value of the decedent’s gross estate. The real surprise lay in the court's decision to propose a new way of calculating the includible amount. Read more >>

Here's a roundup of the latest business valuation professional and firm news, originally published in Issue #174-5 of BVWire. Liz Moreau, a partner at Broussard Poché, headquartered in Crowley, La., has become a Certified Healthcare Financial Professional. Lougen Valenti Bookbinder & Weintraub of Amherst, N.Y., has hired Thomas Schwartz as valuation manager. Read more >>

The 11th Circuit recently affirmed a four-year-old Tax Court valuation of a revocable trust’s interest in a limited partnership. The linchpin in the valuation was the marketability discount. Read more >>

A summary of the latest business valuation professional and firm news, originally published in Issue #174-3 of BVWire. Read more >>

Please take a short, five-minute survey on the use of Big Data in forensic accounting in preventing and detecting fraud. The University of Memphis is conducting research. Read more >>

New fair value regulations and the Mandatory Performance Framework (MPF) apply to everyone, not just holders of the new CEIV credential. Read more >>

A recent Tax Court case rejects an appraiser's valuation of an estate asset, and the undervaluation is enough to normally trigger penalties under IRC Section 6695A. Read more >>

The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) has doled out its first batch of certifications for the new Certified in Entity and Intangible Valuation™ (CEIV™) credential for individuals doing fair value measurements. Read more >>

Valuators may think they know all there’s to know about quantifying the appreciation of nonmarital property by using the active versus passive framework. Think again. A recent Florida divorce case illustrates that the premature categorization of assets may lead to an improper valuation. Read more >>

The AHLA Transactions Resource Guide is a free collection of articles from leading healthcare experts that discuss significant transaction issues in the healthcare industry. Some of the authors are with Duff & Phelps, VMG Health, Wipfli, and others. Read more >>

In the recent Amazon Tax Court case, the IRS challenged the valuation of trademarks the company transferred to its overseas subsidiary. But Amazon prevailed, and here's an explanation of the comparable uncontrolled transaction (CUT) method its expert used to sift through thousands of transactions. Read more >>

Results of the “2017 Private Capital Markets Report" from Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management. BVR is a research sponsor in Pepperdine’s efforts in developing a private cost of capital method as a legitimate alternative to looking to the public markets. Read more >>

Federal discovery rule 26 expressly protects draft expert reports from discovery. But experts testifying in federal court know that this protection is by no means absolute. Questions as to the scope of protection persist, and a recent discovery ruling in a patent infringement case makes clear that concern over the strength of protection is warranted. Read more >>

For the second time in March 2017, a court found an ESOP trustee liable for causing the plan to overpay. The most recent decision chronicles in exhaustive detail how the trustee failed the plan in terms of ensuring that no more than fair market value would be paid for the seller’s shares. Read more >>

Only after a thorough due diligence is done can an analysis be made of what intellectual property is worth. Read more >>

Appraisers have to consider each of the valuation approaches, but the income approach is the only way to value a solar company, says a valuation expert in the industry. Read more >>

A new book not only gives judges and attorneys a reference guide of fundamental business valuation concepts, but it's also a refresher course for valuation experts, and it will help them prepare for court. Read more >>

Inadequate trustee performance was at the center of a recent case, featuring a nontraditional ESOP structure. The court found that, if the trustee had engaged with the underlying valuation, it would have discovered numerous weaknesses and prevented the ESOP from overpaying for the company stock. Read more >>