Category Archives: The Personal Side
AICPA Opens the ABV Credential to Non-CPAs
Controversial to Some and the Future for Others
The Wall Street Journal recently featured an article about the AICPA’s move to open up its ABV credential to non-CPAs. This article caused me to think about the significance of the AICPA’s new position for business valuation.
Apple “Stole” My Apple Watch and Sent Me Back to Fitbit
About three years ago, I was interested in buying a smartwatch, and the Fitbit offerings were not very appealing. Not to be snobbish, but Fitbit simply did not have a watch product that I was willing to wear every day. So I bought first generation Apple Watches for my wife, Cathay, and me about three years ago. Along the way, there was a celebration of something, and I bought a second generation watch for Cathay. My watch, after a couple of fixes during warranty, performed well — until it quit performing— with a bit of help from Apple.
Shannon Pratt Celebrates 85th Birthday
Help Him Celebrate This Milestone!
Shannon Pratt is a living legend in the business valuation community. On Thursday, April 12th, he will celebrate his 85th birthday. This is your opportunity to send him a birthday card!
Guest Post: The Power of Content
Army vs. Navy Game Opener
My daughter, Amanda Thompson, authored this blog post for her firm’s blog (Definition 6). I am proud to share the post and, more importantly, proud of my daughter for who she is and for such special words.
A Reluctant Expert Witness “Confesses”
Over the last 35 years or so, I’ve testified, at deposition or trial, about 200 times.
And so, I confess. My 10 “confessions,” though, do not reveal any startling secrets, but they do provide insight into how one (reluctant) expert views the job of expert witnessing after many years in the trenches.
The Quantitative Marketability Discount Model’s (QMDM) 20th Anniversary
We celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Quantitative Marketability Discount Model (QMDM) in this post.
2017 Extraordinary Banking Awards
Advice for Community Bankers and the Rest of Us
I recently attended the 2017 Extraordinary Banking Awards ceremony hosted by the Emmerich Group. I was honored to be a judge. I also learned several good things from being there and share the ideas in this post.
Customer Attrition and Growth
Lessons Learned from Studying Bank Core Deposit Relationships
This post discusses how understanding core deposit intangible assets in a bank valuation taught me about customer attrition.
Differing Expert Witness Valuation Conclusions
Differences May Not Be the Result of Advocacy
Because of the large difference between the two appraisers, courts may assume that business valuation experts are being advocative. This judicial attitude is fairly widespread based on my experience, and accounts for many decisions where courts “split the valuation baby.” Perhaps, there’s more to the story. In this post, we discuss six sources of differences in valuation opinions between opposing experts.