Tax qualified retirement plans are required to hold employer and
employee contributions in an irrevocable trust, which is separate
from the employer’s funds. ERISA, which governs these
programs, creates various types of legal liability for a plan’s
fiduciaries. Department of Labor penalties and
litigation from plan participants can arise, and can be brought
against an individual fiduciary. The issue of who is or is
not a fiduciary is not determined solely by a person’s
title.
“All arguments concerning existence are founded on the
relation of cause and effect.” - David Hume
In the quote above, David Hume, a famous philosopher, says that
the basis of existence is founded in cause and effect. Cause
and effect is simple to picture for tangible objects – if I cause
my finger to type a letter on the keyboard, that letter shows up on
my computer screen. It becomes a little more difficult to
picture cause and effect with intangible things – if I greet a
stranger on the...
Being a firm in the Midwest, we commonly value heavy manufacturing
and industrial-based companies. While we service a wide array
of industries in the valuation space, we have noted a growing trend
in the region for start-up information technology companies.
Therefore, we are often charged with the task of determining values
for these fast-paced companies.
We
recently completed the valuation of one such high-growth IT
company. We were engaged to determine the value of equity of
the subject...
Reduce, re-use and recycle is a tried and true concept when it
comes to going green. Does it also apply to business valuation
reports? It depends. This video blog looks at the three major areas
that must be considered before relying on the value indicated by an
old business valuation:
We
have all had to tackle tasks that just seem to grind and clunk
along without much direction or urgency, which can be frustrating
for all of the parties involved. The same can be true for
business valuations – some engagements may stretch on for months or
years for various reasons. In order to avoid these headaches
(and the potentially increased fees as a result of the valuation
expert having to pick up and put down the project multiple times),
the party engaging the valuation expert and those...
You've read about it, and you thought it would never happen to
you. But suddenly your bank account is empty, your credit card
bills are through the roof, and you're getting late notices for
accounts you don't own. Your identity has been stolen. What
now?
Time is money
To minimize your losses, act fast. Contact, in this
order:
Your credit card companies
Your bank
The three major credit bureaus
Local, state, or federal law enforcement authorities
Not-for-profit organizations face many challenges in attracting
and retaining executive talent. Compensation programs (types and
amount) that can be offered to these executives are much more
limited than those which are offered to private sector
executives. Many organizations do not have in-house
capabilities to analyze and propose programs that provide
competitive compensation. Donors may perceive that executives are
overpaid, and are therefore the organization is providing fewer
services....
Whether they're snatching your purse, diving into your dumpster,
stealing your mail, or hacking into your computer, they're out to
get you. Who are they? Identity thieves.
Identity thieves can empty your bank account, max out your credit
cards, open new accounts in your name, and purchase furniture,
cars, and even homes on the basis of your credit history. If they
give your personal information to the police during an arrest and
then don't show up for a court date, you may be...
This month's issue of Valuation & Litigation Advisory
Insights includes the following articles:
Growth rate becomes critical to lost profits calculation
In the battle of experts, one weapon simply isn't enouth
Tax Court to valuators: Explain yourself!
Growth rate becomes critical to lost profits
calculation
In commercial cases involving lost profits,
selecting an appropriate growth rate is a critical step in
calculating damages. It’s also one of the most challenging.
Depending on the amount at stake...
I
think we’ve all heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as
something for nothing.” I think it is possible to take that a
step further and say, “There’s no such thing as a lot for
almost nothing.” With the current economic downturn,
consumers have become far more judicious with their purchases and
are doing all they can to squeeze as much out of every dollar spent
as possible. Me personally, I’m still using a flip-phone
without internet, I pretty much only get new clothes on my birthday
or...
In the wake of MF Global Holdings LTD’s bankruptcy, clients,
regulators, and creditors are all attempting to untangle the
defunct investment company’s financial accounts to determine what
remains to be distributed to MF Global’s stakeholders. The
billions of dollars lost by MF Global on its investments in
European sovereign debt left its clients scrambling to salvage any
part of MF Global’s assets to recoup their diminished account
balances. But what about the other secured and...
Corporate downsizing compromises internal controls. 9%
unemployment. Record residential foreclosures. 50% of marriages are
failing. Employees are facing increased pressure of
addressing increased healthcare costs and the costs associated with
taking care of aging parents. And yet, there are still many others
that fantasize about what it would be like to live the life of the
“rich and famous.” For business owners, today’s work environment is
a challenging one.
If this has ever happened to you then you know first hand how
traumatic the loss can be. The loss of cash. No credit cards.
I can’t make debit card purchases. Not my driver’s
license! Oh no, and the social security card?? Not my
child’s baby pictures??? My paycheck? And the list goes on and
on. Think for a minute what you think is in your
wallet. Here one minute, gone the next.
I know first hand as I’ve been carjacked and lost my wallet and
recently a family member had her wallet fall into...
Management Involvement in Purchase Price
Allocations
It is common for companies to bring in a third-party valuation
expert to value the intangible assets acquired in a business
combination for financial reporting purposes. It is important
to note that even...
The issue of
whether a worker should be treated as an employee or an independent
contractor has been an area of significant IRS interest for
decades. The IRS has the ability to assess significant
employer penalties for failure to withhold employment and income
taxes on a worker who should have been treated as an employee.
If an employer is faced with this
issue upon an IRS examination, the IRS will typically offer to
settle the penalties at a discounted rate under Internal Revenue
Code (IRC)...
If you have a Blackberry device,
last week was not a good week. Last Wednesday (October
12th), Research in Motion, the maker of Blackberry
smartphones, informed subscribers in the Americas that they may
experience “intermittent service delays”. From the reaction
and feedback we received from many of our clients, I would say
that’s an understatement.
The reason for the problem in the
U.S. stems from the vast usage of Blackberry devices all over the
world, and the backlog that has built up over...
Residents should be on the lookout for anyone soliciting them
that “there is a little known loophole that allows them to release
their own residential mortgage.” Residents may be duped in
person or know of someone that has paid for such mortgage relief
assistance. This is not a telephone scam.
An individual has shared with me just how he can save people from
foreclosure and further advised that he will be filing such
documents in the future as he has several clients waiting for his
services....
“Go
Green!” There is a big push in our office to work in an
environmentally-friendly manner – from turning out the lights after
leaving an area, to recycling pop cans, to our Real Estate and
Construction niche group members obtaining Green Advantage
Commercial/Residential (GACR) certifications. Regardless of
whether global warming is a real or make-believe phenomenon, the
concept of making more efficient use of the resources that we
currently have will only continue to grow as the world’s...
We
have all had to tackle tasks that just seem to grind and clunk
along without much direction or urgency, which can be frustrating
for all of the parties involved. The same can be true for
business valuations – some engagements may stretch on for months or
years for various reasons. In order to avoid these headaches
(and the potentially increased fees as a result of the valuation
expert having to pick up and put down the project multiple times),
the party engaging the valuation expert and those...
I
think we’ve all heard the saying, “There’s no such thing as
something for nothing.” I think it is possible to take that a
step further and say, “There’s no such thing as a lot for
almost nothing.” With the current economic downturn,
consumers have become far more judicious with their purchases and
are doing all they can to squeeze as much out of every dollar spent
as possible. Me personally, I’m still using a flip-phone
without internet, I pretty much only get new clothes on my birthday
or...
“Go
Green!” There is a big push in our office to work in an
environmentally-friendly manner – from turning out the lights after
leaving an area, to recycling pop cans, to our Real Estate and
Construction niche group members obtaining Green Advantage
Commercial/Residential (GACR) certifications. Regardless of
whether global warming is a real or make-believe phenomenon, the
concept of making more efficient use of the resources that we
currently have will only continue to grow as the world’s...
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