Expertise
Collectively, our professional staff represent over 100 years of business appraisal experience. With a track record of valuation engagements now numbering into the thousands, we have seen businesses of just about every type and in every industry sector. Our clients have ranged from small firms to middle market companies to businesses with over $1 billion in annual revenues. Representative examples of our projects might include such varied assignments as the following:
- Appraised a minority interest in a $10 million software publisher for the purpose of facilitating a stockholder exit and redemption.
- Appraised a fractional interest in a limited liability company holding over $20 million in investment securities and real properties in order to meet the tax reporting requirements of an intra-family wealth transfer.
- Determined the enterprise value of a $200 million industrial supplies distributor for the purpose of evaluating strategic options, including sale or merger.
- Appraised an estate’s interest in a multi-tiered investment holding company whose wholly and partially owned subsidiaries included limited liability companies, family limited partnerships, and operating entities.
- Advised the board of directors of a $30 million manufacturer in the food and beverage industry on the fairness, from a financial point of view, of a merger offer.
- Valued the common stock of a pre-revenue technology company for the purpose of option grants under Internal Revenue Code Section 409A.
- Advised the board of trustees of an ESOP-owned manufacturing company on whether a purchase offer constituted adequate consideration.
- Provided expert witness testimony regarding the valuation of a professional practice in connection with a marital dissolution.
Besides professional judgment, which comes from experience, a valuation expert’s most important attributes include technical excellence and unwavering integrity. All of our professional staff are either Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholders or are currently pursuing the CFA charter. This rigorous program administered by the CFA Institute covers the economic and financial principles and techniques relevant to all branches of investment analysis, including business appraisal. In addition, all CFA charterholders are bound by the Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct.
Our professionals have also earned credentials within the specific discipline of business valuation. Each of our senior staff is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA), a professional designation awarded by the American Society of Appraisers that covers general appraisal concepts as well as those unique to business valuation. In the crowded marketplace of business appraisal credentials, the ASA designation is recognized as the most rigorous. Members of the American Society of Appraisers must adhere to the Principles of Appraisal Practice and Code of Ethics. In addition, members must abide by the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
Besides these two core credentials, our staff has pursued other professional curricula to further their technical competency, including the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) designations.