Cost Of Capital Virtual Conference

2025 Cost of Capital: A BVR Live Virtual Conference

January 16, 2025, 8:00 am - 1:50 pm PST/11:00 am - 4:50 pm EST

This exciting virtual conference is a comprehensive event designed to equip business valuation professionals with all the latest news, research, theories, and applications on cost of capital. Featuring sessions led by industry experts William Harris, Dr. Michael Crain, Ron Seigneur, Malcolm McLelland, and Danielle Goedert, the conference covers topics from the current state of cost of capital (post-U.S. elections) to new research and the resurgence of IPCPL theory. Attendees will gain valuable insights through engaging sessions on this evergreen, yet ever-changing topic. 

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Learn more about how you can catapult your learning potential with access to more than 50 exclusive interactive training programs throughout the year.

SESSIONS

Current Environment and State of Cost of Capital

8:00am-8:50am PST / 11:00am-11:50am EST

Speaker: William Harris

CPE Credits: 1.0 Submit a CPE Survey

This session will focus on the latest trends in the current economic environment and the impact on the cost of capital. The session will begin with an economic review over the past year and a look at trends in key economic variables. The session will also include a review of economic forecasts from key publications and then take a deeper dive into the various cost of capital impacts and how the current economic environment and future outlook impact the components of a company’s cost of capital.

Presentation and Reading Materials

New Research on Decile 10 Firms

9:00am-9:50am PST / 12:00pm-12:50pm EST

Dr. Michael Crain

CPE Credits: 1.0 Submit a CPE Survey

Earlier academic research has shown that smaller-listed firms, which have been the basis for size premiums, tend to have different financial characteristics than larger-listed firms, such as profitability and leverage. This presentation will describe the speaker’s original research of the financial characteristics of smaller-listed firms and compare them to the characteristics of unlisted small and medium-sized businesses that most in the BV community value.

Presentation and Reading Materials

Evolution of the BUM

10:00am-10:50am PST / 1:00pm-1:50pm EST

Speaker: Ron Seigneur

CPE Credits: 1.0 Submit a CPE Survey

This session will focus on the unsystematic risk component within the traditional buildup model (BUM) when developing discount rates for appraisal and damages engagements. Attention will be given to a historical review of analytical frameworks and perspectives over the last 40 years beginning with the Shilt table and evolving to current frameworks for expressing professional judgment in this key area of discount rate development. This session will follow much of the thinking contained in Mr. Seigneur’s article, “The Continuing Evolution of the BUM,” published in the September Business Valuation Update newsletter.

Presentation and Reading Materials

Understanding IPCPL Theory

11:00am-11:50am PST / 2:00pm-2:50pm EST

Speaker: Malcolm McLelland

CPE Credits: 1.0 Submit a CPE Survey

The webinar will provide a comprehensive overview of implied private company pricing line (IPCPL) theory, empirical evidence, and application. IPCPL theory implies private capital market transaction costs represent the shadow price of liquidity risk in private capital markets, i.e., the price of liquidity risk were it traded explicitly in private capital markets. Such theory is well-grounded in valuation theory and the underlying asset pricing and financial economic theories. IPCPL theory has been empirically tested and is easily testable by any valuation analyst. And, finally, because private capital market transaction costs estimated using the IPCPL methods represent the difference between the prices of liquidity in public and private capital markets, such methods arguably represent a more theoretically and empirically valid—and, so, more objective—method of estimating discounts for lack of marketability associated with private-market transaction costs.

Presentation and Reading Materials

Advisory on Company-Specific Risk Premium

12:00pm-12:50pm PST / 3:00pm-3:50pm EST

Speakers: Danielle Goedert

CPE Credits: 1.0 Submit a CPE Survey

This session will preview certain areas of the forthcoming VFR Advisory on the topic of company-specific risk premium (CSRP). We will discuss the working group’s view on best practices in evaluating and quantifying CSRP for financial reporting purposes (although concepts outlined may be useful for other valuation measurements). We will also explore other topics related to CSRP assessment, including prospective financial information assessment and considerations related to other discount rate elements.

Presentation and Reading Materials

BVR’s Cost of Capital Professional Platform

1:00pm-1:50pm PST / 4:00pm-4:50pm EST

Speakers: Dr. Michael Crain, Adam Manson

CPE Credits: 1.0 Submit a CPE Survey

The Cost of Capital Professional platform from BVR is an economical source of cost of capital information that integrates data from multiple credible sources, including the University of Chicago’s Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP), Professor Aswath Damodaran, Salvidio & Partners, and the U.S. Federal Reserve. The philosophy behind this resource is to provide valuation practitioners with an economical, practical, independent, and transparent platform that empowers users to make professional judgments while avoiding the illusion of precision from overcomplicated mathematics. 

Presentation and Reading Materials

SPEAKERS

William Harris

William Harris
Trugman Valuation Associates Inc

Malcolm McLelland

Malcolm McLelland
McLelland Financial Economics LLC

Danielle Goedert

Danielle Goedert
PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

Michael A. Crain

Dr. Michael A. Crain

Ron Seigneur

Ron Seigneur
Seigneur Gustafson LLP

Adam Manson

Adam Manson
Business Valuation Resources