Business Succession Planning Errors to Avoid

Business succession planning requires careful considerations by business owners as leadership changes effect the entire business including employee retention, customer relationships, and products or services offered by the company. Avoiding the following common succession planning errors will help business owners achieve a successful leadership transition: [Read more…]

Business Valuation Seminar Fraud

Business owners and their attorneys need to beware of companies that offer business valuation and consulting services seminars. These seminars are usually a closed invite only event that will snare a few business owners who are anxious to sell their business. The key is to convince  a business owner that his or her business is worth  much more than it is and in the process to charge a large fee  for a  written report to support this fictitious number. [Read more…]

Key Factors That Affect Business Value

Most business owners never think about the value of their business until they are ready to sell and retire. At this stage it is often too late to enhance the value of the company . The following key factors affect the sale value of most businesses. [Read more…]

Tennessee Supreme Court Adopts Modern Valuation Methods For Dissenting Shareholder Disputes

In a case involving dissenting shareholders forced out of a closely held corporation in Nashville, the Tennessee Supreme Court has overruled its prior case law and adopted a standard that will allow trial courts to use modern methods such as discounted cash flow to determine ” fair value” of dissenting shareholders stock. [Read more…]

Business Valuation and The New Tax Law

The Tax Cuts and Job Act signed into law by President Trump in 2017  will have both long term and short term effects on business value as the provisions in this legislation will require more complex modeling by business valuation professionals for after tax cash flows and the cost of capital calculations. [Read more…]

Business Valuation and Forensic Accounting

The business valuation and forensic accounting disciplines often are required when valuing a  closely held business for divorce and shareholder disputes. Controlling shareholders may attempt to minimize income and cash flow  and understate assets in order to minimize the amount of cash required to pay minority shareholders or divorcing spouses. Valuation and Forensic experts  are able to uncover these type of financial misstatements and make adjustments to correct these intentional errors to avoid undervaluing the closely held business involved in the litigation. [Read more…]

Valuation of Family Businesses Can Pose A Challenge

Family-owned businesses are not usually run like large public companies and working together can bring out the best and worst in a family owned business entity. Here are four Key questions that business valuation professionals ask when valuing a family owned company. [Read more…]

United States Treasury Withdraws Proposed Changes to IRC Regulation 2704

Business valuation  professionals  and estate planning attorneys can take a sigh of relief as United States Treasury Secretary, Steven T. Mnuchin, on October 2, 2017 proposed that the changes to Internal revenue Code Section(IRC) 2704 be withdrawn. The changes to this IRC regulation could have effectively eliminated discounts for lack of control and discounts for lack of marketability in family owned businesses. [Read more…]

New Tennessee Law on Discount for Lack of Marketability in Tennessee Divorce Valuation

The use of a marketability discount in Tennessee divorce valuations has been a source of some confusion based on court rulings. A recent amendment to the Tennessee Code will provide clarity to business valuators who prepare divorce valuations in Tennessee. [Read more…]

The Importance of Ratio Analysis in Business Valuation

One of the most important procedures done in preparing a business valuation is the ratio analysis of the subject company’s financial statements. The calculation and review of financial ratios will assist the valuation analyst in determining the strengths and weaknesses of the company. [Read more…]