Most small business owners and attorneys know the basics of the business valuation process. They probably know that there are three approaches to value: the cost, market and income approaches. One thing attorneys and small business owners also understand is that the process of valuing a business is not simply a matter of plugging numbers  Continue Reading »

Is business valuation an art or a science? In a training years ago, a panel of business valuation experts tackled this question, and could not come up with an answer. While the experts did agree that business valuation has elements of both science and art, they differed on which one was the predominant element. Today the debate  Continue Reading »

Minn. Energy Res. Corp. v. Commissioner of Revenue, 2016 Minn. LEXIS 715 (Nov. 9, 2016) The Minnesota Supreme Court reviewed a tax court valuation involving a public utility company. The court’s opinion delves into bread-and-butter valuation issues such as how best to calculate cost of equity and how to determine external obsolescence. Minnesota Energy Resources  Continue Reading »

The trial involving the Michael Jackson estate has started in Tax Court in California. One of the issues in the case is the fair market value of Jackson’s posthumous right of publicity, which includes his name and image. The estate valued this at $2,105 because the pop star was mired in scandal at the time  Continue Reading »

When a small business is having their company appraised, there are many different pieces that factor into the final figure. The discount for lack of marketability is a valuation adjustment that requires a particularly detailed process, and is often contested. An appraiser needs a complete understanding of this discount, and obviously can’t just pick a  Continue Reading »

In re Marriage of Chen, 2016 Wash. App LEXIS 2854 (Nov. 22, 2016) Double dip, like goodwill, is a challenging issue for valuators because different jurisdictions handle the subject differently, which makes it hard to keep up with the various approaches. A Washington state decision explains that jurisdiction’s case law and lays down the key  Continue Reading »

Mark Filler, CPA, of Filler & Associates was the plaintiff’s damages expert for the following Portland, Maine court case. Tucker Cianchette won a nearly $6 million dollar settlement in a lawsuit first filed in June 2016 against his father, Eric Cianchette, a prominent businessman. A jury in Portland has awarded the money in contract, fraud  Continue Reading »

Berman v. Unimin Corp., 2016 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 172769 (Dec. 14, 2016) How deeply must a damages expert research a personal injury case to produce an admissible report? This was the overriding question in a Daubert case involving an injured railroad worker. The defendant argued the expert improperly relied on the attorney’s instruction to work  Continue Reading »

Usually when a business is professionally valued, owners and managers immediately check out the bottom line to see what the company is worth. They may pay little attention to the reasons behind the final number, especially if the report was prepared for internal planning or financial reporting purposes. But it’s a good idea to take  Continue Reading »

The 1993 Daubert case says that an attorney is permitted to challenge an expert witness’s credentials, and if successful, the expert will not be allowed to testify. One case before the U.S. Court of Federal Claims shows how an expert can successfully defend their qualifications and methodologies when they’re subjected to a Daubert challenge. SSE Case:  Continue Reading »