I keep getting asked about the definition of "forensic". Remember ... "Bones" on TV is a "forensic" pathologist. There are "forensic" psychologists, "forensic" scientists and "forensic" accountants (like me!) Forensic comes from the Latin words "forensis" and "forum" which mean "public" and "forum". A "forensic" (any profession) is an individual, who declares, in a public [...]
Nobody likes debt, but it’s often an inevitable part of a company keeping its doors open for business. In this post, we’ll cover how businesses should account for liabilities. We’ll provide the two types of liabilities most businesses incur, along with three examples -- and we’ll show you how a business should account for them. [...]
In order to control internal operations and make sound business decisions on behalf of their business, managers need pertinent information on which to base their decisions. When it comes to manufacturing, most organizations use complex accounting and data systems to manage inventory and track raw materials, production, labor hours, maintenance and repairs, storeroom supplies and [...]
Many businesses (as well as tax professionals) are very good at compiling financial information. Most have decent systems in place to gather, compile, and summarize the financial information collected. Yet, many times, unfortunately, it is the only set of metrics that organizations use to determine their success. Finance is only one piece of the story [...]
If you have ever thought of owning foreign real estate, but have doubts of its merits, this post is going to outline some of the primary benefits that ownership of offshore real estate entails. It will also shed some light on the common pitfalls that Americans may encounter when acquiring offshore real estate. Whether foreign [...]
Accounting for real estate development projects under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) demands knowledge of regulatory requirements from various accounting bodies; bodies like the Accounting Principles Board, Emerging Issues Task Force, Financial Accounting Standards Board, and American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), to name a few. The costs accrued with the development of a [...]
Optimism in the U.S. economy is triggering increased capital spending at private companies, according to a new report from PricewaterhouseCoopers. Over half (59%) of private-company leaders are optimistic about U.S. economic prospects for the next 12 months, according to PwC US's latest Trendsetter Barometer. More than one-third of them plan major new capital investments, the [...]
Brave v. Brave, 2014 Ark. LEXIS 232 (April 17, 2014) What a difference a court makes! A divorce case involving a successful restaurant made news several months ago when the state Court of Appeals extended the scope of personal goodwill to businesses other than professional partnerships, requiring the trial court to exclude the value of [...]
Barnes v. Barnes, 2014 Tenn. App. LEXIS 200 (April 10, 2014) A recent nasty divorce case centering on the husband’s dental practice offers up a number of interesting valuation questions, including whether the final valuation was subject to a marketability discount (DLOM) and whether there was enterprise goodwill. The practice had two dentists—the husband and [...]
What do these amounts have in common: $0, $4.3 million, $9.3 million, $26 million, and $92.2 million? Amazingly, they are all valuation estimates of the same company at the same point in time. And the cause of these wild swings in value? The estimate of personal goodwill, as a recent estate case in Tax Court [...]
