Financial experts may be subject to standards of professional practice from a number of sources when they measure lost profits damages and give related expert testimony. The sources can include governmental regulators as well as professional membership organizations and societies. In addition, a technical community may establish professional standards of practice in other ways. Read more >>

A number of issues have emerged that analysts will encounter when performing a valuation in a bankruptcy context. Valuation analysts who become involved in bankruptcy-related assignments should expect their work to come under a great deal of scrutiny because most of these engagements are done within a litigation or some other adversarial context, cautioned Robert Reilly, a managing director at Willamette Management Associates, during a BVR webinar back in 2017. While his remarks were made a few years ago, they continue to resonate, and a chapter from Business Valuation and Bankruptcy: Case Law Compendium, 3rd edition, contains more of his timeless advice on how to handle the challenges valuation experts will face. Read more >>

Business interruption insurance claims are on the rise, and analysts need to be on the lookout for misrepresentations. Michael Haugen, CPA, CFF, CFE (JS Held) conducted a session on this at the recent AICPA FVS Conference, and it’s an area where valuation experts would do well to bolster their knowledge and skills in financial forensics. During his session, Haugen gave some tips on how to “sniff out” misrepresentations in these claims. In the recent Business Valuation Update (BVU) article, “14 Ways to Detect Misrepresentations in Business Interruption Claims,” Haugen classifies specific techniques to detect misrepresentations in business interruption claims. Read more >>

Measuring lost profits damages for new or early-stage businesses can be a daunting task. Traditional damage analyses that rely on historical results are often meaningless since, by definition, startup companies usually lack a track record of operating results. Without an historical operating history for measuring lost profits, the damages expert walks a thin line between speculation and a reasoned analysis. Under most circumstances, to be admissible evidence, damage analyses require relevant and reliable factual bases. These legal and evidentiary requirements are often heightened when measuring damages for new businesses. Read more >>

The 2020 AICPA Forensic and Valuation Services (FVS) Conference held this past November was loaded with great speakers and interesting sessions—so much so that we can’t include everything. Here are some key takeaways from the early sessions we attended. Read more >>

In BVR’s recent webinar, Power Panel: Live Expert Answers for Today’s Tough BV Questions, experts Jay E. Fishman, Michelle Gallagher, Ken Pia, and Jeffrey Tarbell covered various hot topics that affect the business valuation profession. These questions ranged from the basics, such as “What will 2021 look like?” to “What are your thoughts on the current state of the ESOP litigation environment particularly with the new administration coming in?” Here, we summarize five of the questions and answers. For more information, be sure to check out the complete recording and transcript of the session. Read more >>

What a year! In its 25 years, Business Valuation Update (BVU) has not seen anything quite like the year 2020. Virtually everything in the practice of business valuation changed, and BVU chronicled these developments as well as the latest thinking in methodologies, changes in regulations, court cases, new and updated resources, and practice-building ideas. Here’s a sampling of what we covered in 2020. Read more >>

It’s always very informative and helpful to listen to judges talk about the valuation cases they hear. At its annual conferences, NACVA regularly presents sessions with judges. At its Business Valuation and Financial Litigation Super Conference in June, a session included a panel of four judges and one moderator. The panelists shared their views of when they detect potential problems with appraisers when they are on the witness stand. Read more >>

The final chapter on the impact of the pandemic on the full-service restaurant sector has yet to be written. In the meantime, thinking continues to evolve on conducting valuations in the current environment. In a new special report, What It’s Worth: Valuing Full-Service Restaurants, BVR covers the fundamentals and unique considerations for restaurant valuation—as well as how to assess the long-term outlook for consumer preferences and financial performance. Based on conversations, webinars, and conference sessions with many valuation experts, here are six pandemic-related issues you should consider. Read more >>

We find it perplexing how often S corp. owners—who invest in their business with an eye on the future and carefully analyze the cost/benefit of every decision—take a short-term, simplistic approach to reasonable compensation: Just pick the lowest possible number to minimize payroll taxes. Read more >>

Back in 2012, BVWire ran a news item reporting that the era of the business valuation generalist was over. Since then, this notion was reinforced in ongoing coverage. For example, we reported in 2015 that attorneys look for specialized skills when engaging an appraiser. Today, the advice to specialize continues to resonate. Read more >>

NACVA recently held the first major multiday multitrack conference of the year online, and BVWire attended via the Zoom platform. We found excellent speakers, interesting sessions, and the technical details all went smoothly (attendees even received lunch credits via GrubHub). Read more >>

Every company—large and small alike—now faces material risks related to data security and privacy concerns that need to be addressed when performing a business valuation. This is a challenging area for valuators because it is a complex issue and there is little guidance or empirical data to help quantify these risks. Fortunately, ideas and techniques are emerging to help pave the way to better understand and measure the impact of data security and cyber liability risks on the value of a business. Read more >>

When looking to appraise or value paving companies, there are many unique factors to consider that set this industry apart from others: the seasonality of the business, specific bidding requirements for federal, state, and local governments, as well as contracted set asides for businesses owned by women, minorities, and veterans. There are even special rules for determining what qualifies for these ownership types. Read more >>

At the end of every year, BVLaw takes stock of valuation and damages cases that have dominated the conversation among financial experts by making law or influencing in some other way attitudes on key valuation issues. Here is our selection of 2019 cases by Sylvia Golden, Esq., BVR’s executive legal editor. Read more >>

The various attributes of a veterinary clinic, such as location, the affluence of clientele, and the quality of medicine practiced, may all be outstanding and provide support for value considerations in veterinary practices. However, such characteristics do not provide insights into the profitability of the practice. Read more >>

How to write a business valuation report may seem an unlikely subject. However, several current trends reflect confusion in this area and make it surprisingly relevant. In BVR’s evergreen special report, “How to Write Bulletproof Valuation Reports,” expert valuator Sheri Schultz provides her top 10 practical tips for best report-writing practices. Read more >>