Akron Business Valuation

Adversarial.  Hostile.  Inequitable.  These are words commonly associated with traditional divorce proceedings.  Typically, these proceedings include pre-trial negotiations and settlement procedures which are transacted under the shadow of the court, subject to the authority of the judge, who has the power to reject or amend settlements in cases where they may appear inequitable in the eyes of the court.  The pre-trial process is typically adversarial in nature and business valuation experts are...

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:

• Just Awards – Construct a Framework When Assessing Damages
• Defense Damages Experts: Developing a Winning Strategy
• Reasonable Royalty Calculations Demand Sound Expert Analysis

Just awards: Construct a framework when assessing damages

Almost daily, jurors award huge damages to plaintiffs. But are these jurors making informed decisions? One of the most important contributions a financial expert can make...

As a result of numerous requests from privately-held companies, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) recently issued a proposed update related to goodwill impairment testing.  According to the current goodwill impairment testing rules, management must first determine whether the fair value of their company/reporting unit is greater than its book value.  The valuation analysis that must be prepared to support the fair value determination (and pass auditor scrutiny) is sometimes...

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Skoda Minotti, a CPA, business and financial advisory firm, has been named a recipient of The Plain Dealer’s second annual Top Workplaces 2011 award, for the second year in a row. This honor was given to 132 companies, nonprofits and agencies in northeast Ohio companies this year, based strictly on survey results of their employees.

Survey results were gathered using an independent workplace consultant. Employees were asked to indicate, on a seven-point scale, how much they...

Did you hear that? That loud sigh of relief? That was me exhaling now that it is official that football will be on my TV screen during Sunday afternoons this fall. Now that teams are wrapping up the mad scramble to add free agents and resign players, the football world’s collective thoughts naturally turn to which team is the favorite to win the NFL championship. At the beginning of the year, there are always a number of teams that the pundits believe have a good shot at making a title run. As...

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:
• 3 ways to communicate with a valuation professional
• ACFE survey provides insights on fraud prevention and detection
• What is the "value" of litigation

3 ways to communicate with a valuation professional

Nothing's more frustrating than sitting down for a consultation with a valuation professional and failing to fully understand the process and how an appraiser arrives at a certain value. To...

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:

• When it's time to calculate damages: How to ensure a reasonable discount rate
• Patent infringement damages: Federal Circuit gives thumbs down to "25% rule"
• Start early, end strong: Tax planning in litigation

When it's time to calculate damages: How to ensure a reasonable discount rate

Consider this scenario: A company goes to court to recover the lost profits it likely would have earned in the future had an...

Nearly 90% of owners of family-run businesses believe that the same family (or families) will control the business in five years.  Unfortunately, if history provides any indication, only about two-thirds of those businesses will survive to the second generation.  The statistics deteriorate when it comes to the third and fourth generations, with only 5% of family-owned businesses surviving to the fourth generation.  These statistics illustrate a key challenge that today’s business owner faces:...

• Reality TV and Related Party Transactions in Litigious Valuation Engagements
• Impact of Government Contracts on Subject Company Risk
• Tax Court: Subsequent Sale was Best Evidence of Fair Market Value

Reality TV and Related Party Transactions in Litigious Valuation Engagements
By Sean Saari, CPA/ABV, CVA, MBA

My wife loves "reality" TV shows - Big Brother, Survivor, The Bachelor, The Apprentice, pretty much...

I feel terrible for those in the South who are struggling with some of the worst flooding that the U.S. has experienced in years. One pair of shoes I’m glad I’m not in belong to the person who had to decide whether or not to open up the Morganza Spillway. Open up the spillway – save New Orleans, but flood a rural area in which over 25,000 people live. Keep the spillway closed – keep the Mississippi River contained north of New Orleans, but risk another major flood in the city that birthed jazz...

CLEVELAND – Skoda Minotti’s Professional Staffing Group is pleased to announce that it has expanded its professional staffing services. The group now provides services for contract, direct hire or term-to-hire positions, ranging from staff level to C-level executives, within the following areas of specialization:accounting and finance, C-level executives, engineering, human resources, information technology and sales and marketing.

Leading the newly expanding service offerings is Andrew Devore, a...

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:

• International Business Valuation Standards: A Forecast for U.S.-Based Business Valuation Experts
• Is the Price Right? Ask an Expert.
• How Contingencies Affect a Business's Value

International Business Valuation Standards: A Forecast for U.S.-Based Business Valuation Experts

I feel completely surrounded—like the Spartans in the Battle of Thermopylae, chronicled in the movie 300 and elsewhere. Rather than...

I feel completely surrounded – like the Spartans did in Battle of Thermopylae, chronicled in the movie “300”. Rather than being encircled by Xerxes’ Persian army, however, my plight is much more benign (and much less bloody). I’m bombarded by the amount articles discussing the convergence of U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Exposure drafts for revised standards developed jointly by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International...

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:

• Active vs. passive appreciation: A deceptively complex issue in divorce cases
• Before and after: Court paints picture of lost profits and other calculations
• It’s not that easy: Determining how costs affect lost profits

Active vs. Passive Appreciation: A Deceptively Complex Issue in Divorce Cases

In divorce cases, it’s common for an interest in a closely-held business or professional practice to be the...

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:

• No Time Like the Present: Discounting Future Damages
• In Valuation, Timing is Everything
• Business Valuation Glossary

No Time Like the Present: Discounting Future Damages

In commercial cases, plaintiffs often recover lost profits they would have earned in the future but for the defendant's wrongful conduct. In those contexts, valuation experts typically discount future damages to present value. Click...

A few months ago, we discussed the proposed amendments to Rule 26 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure that would shield draft expert reports from discovery.  These amendments were approved and became effective for all cases filed in Federal Court beginning December 1, 2010.  The impact of these changes, however, runs deeper than just protecting draft expert reports from discovery.  A number of other factors to consider in connection with the recent amendments to Rule 26 include:

• Application...

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:

• Goodwill Impairment Analysis - Is Your Goodwill Impaired?
• Emerging from Bankruptcy: Business Valuation is Critical to a Successful Fresh Start
• Buy-Sell Agreements: 4 Business Valuation-Related Pitfalls to Avoid

 Goodwill Impairment Analysis - Is Your Goodwill Impaired?

In the current weakened economic environment, companies are learning that the goodwill that they carry on the balance sheet is impaired...

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:

• Owners Compensation: Why Valuation Experts are Nosy about This Number
• Looking Ahead and Behind to Determine Lost Earnings
• The Role of Forensic Skepticism in Lost Profits Calculations
• Valuation Interviews Help Tell the Whole Story

Owners Compensation: Why Valuation Experts are Nosy about This Number

Some business owners feel that when a valuation expert asks them how much they make (and how much they would...

As if it isn’t hard enough to remember someone’s name when you first meet them, business valuation experts typically have a mass of letters after their name, too.  While most people are familiar with the CPA (Certified Public Accountant) designation, there a number of other credentials that indicate proficiency and experience specifically in performing business valuations.  The summary below is a “decoder ring” to some of the more common valuation credentials.  I promise the secret message will...

This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory Insights includes the following articles:

• Tiered Valuation Discounts: The Tax Court's Position on the Russian Doll
• Guidance Issued on Valuation of Partial Interests
• Quantifying Economic Losses When Mitigating Circumstances Come Into Play

Tiered Valuation Discounts: The Tax Court's Position on the Russian Doll
By Sean R. Saari, CPA/ABV, CVA, MBA

As little boys or girls, many of us had an opportunity to play with a "matryoshka" doll - also known as...