The major federal bank, thrift and credit union regulators issued proposed Interagency Appraisal and Evaluation Guidelines that clarify risk management principles and internal controls for ensuring that financial institutions’ real estate collateral valuations (both appraisals and evaluations) are reliable and support their real estate-related transactions. The proposal was issued jointly by
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Valuation Services
Price Tags on Technology: No Simple Solutions
In today’s increasingly technology-driven economy, CPA/ABVs face an arduous task in putting a price on technology-based intellectual property. Even with examples like Google’s search engine, Apple’s iPod, or Microsoft’s Windows platform, where established markets exist and discrete revenue streams can be tied to a specific technology, determining value apart from
How Reasonable Is Your Royalty?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In recent years, focus has shifted to the increased value of intangible assets. As such, competition, sometimes unlawful, has resulted in extensive litigation and/or negotiation between parties for the use of intangibles. Methodologies to quantify a reasonable royalty are consistent with general valuation approaches–market (other licenses), income (profitability),
Smart Stops On the Web
FRAUD / FORENSIC ACCOUNTING HAVE FRAUD FEARS?http://fvs.aicpa.org/Resources/Antifraud+Forensic+AccountingSearch no further than the AICPA’s offering of antifraud and forensic accounting resources. Click “Tools and Aids” to download Managing the Business Risk of Fraud: A Practical Guide, which outlines principles for establishing effective fraud risk management. The paper was released jointly by the
50 Examples of When to Apply SSVS1
SSVS1 applies to any AICPA member who performs “an engagement to estimate value.” According to the statement, any member who performs such an engagement is called a valuation analyst . The statement applies to any engagement to estimate value when the valuation analyst (1) “applies
Suggested Guidelines for How to Implement SSVS1 in Your BV Practice
Follow these 10 recommendations to integrate Statement on Standards for Valuation Services no. 1, Valuation of a Business, Business Ownership Interest, Security, or Intangible Asset, into your business valuation practice. These guidelines are presented as optional suggestions to members to facilitate the adoption of the SSVS1 professional
Hiring Forensic IT Specialists: Ask the Right Questions
Understanding forensic IT specialists’ capabilities and defining their roles is critical to a successful engagement. Take these steps to ensure the candidate you’re considering is right for the assignment. R Determine if the engagement will be a matter of information preservation, financial or economic analysis, a review for relevant data
Professional Issues
A new AICPA specialty credential in forensic accounting will be launched in early fall. The credential, Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), combines specialized forensic accounting expertise with the core knowledge and skills that make CPAs among the most trusted business advisers, according to Robert Harris, chair of the National Accreditation
Managing Corporate Divestiture Transactions
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Corporate divestitures, the sale of stock or assets of a segment of a business, are an important class of business transaction by virtue of their pervasiveness (more than onethird of all M&A activity in a given year) and their size (averaging more than $175 million per deal). Divestitures
Allocating Value Among Different Classes of Equity
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY It is essential for board members, executive officers, CFOs, auditors and private equity investors to comprehend option-pricing models used to determine the per-share values of common and preferred shares. The AICPA Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held-Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation , describes three methods
Are Your ESO Values on Target?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Employee stock options (ESOs) more closely resemble warrants than traditional options in that they result in the issuance of additional shares of stock. Like warrants, ESOs impact stock values because they are dilutive. To determine the value of ESOs for a closely held company, first
Life Insurance: What’s It Worth? And Who Says?
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Gifts of life insurance policies to not-for-profit organizations can benefit both the organization and the donor, the latter in the form of an often sizeable income tax deduction. However, under the new requirements of the Pension Protection Act of 2006 (PPA), determining the fair market value
Privilege Claims Under Fire
Despite some legal setbacks, the IRS has signaled it will continue to press for a strict reading of the work product privilege that protects taxpayer documents from discovery. With Action on Decision 2007-004, the IRS said it will not acquiesce in the Sixth Circuit’s holding in U.S. v. Roxworthy that
Risk Assessment Standards in Action
Eight standards rolled out in 2006 by the Auditing Standards Board are sparking a cultural shift for auditors. The standards—Statement on Auditing Standards nos. 104–111—are designed to enhance auditors’ responses to audit risk and materiality and encourage them to focus on areas with the greatest risk of
ESOARS: A Flawed Product
Steven Balsam’s article (“ A Bid for Fair Value,” Sept. 07, page 42) fails to discuss an evaluation of the suitability of Zions ESOARS performed, at the request of the Council of Institutional Investors, by noted valuation expert Stephen A. Ross and his colleagues at Compensation Valuation Inc. (“CVI Report”).
The Finer Points of Fair Value
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY To adopt FASB Statement no. 159, companies must comply with the requirements of Statement no. 157, Fair Value Measurements . Companies and their auditors must consider whether the use of fair value option accounting reflects a “substance over form” decision by management rather than an
Guide to ESOP Valuation and Financial Advisory Services (Second Edition)
by Robert F. Reilly and Robert P. Schweihs Willamette Management Associates Partners, 2007, 585 pp. The Guide to ESOP Valuation and Financial Advisory Services (Second Edition) expands and updates information from the first edition on employee stock ownership plans (ESOP) published in 2005. The book is based on a compilation,
Refining Fair Value Measurement
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY FASB Statement no. 157 defines fair value as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.” The standard does not require fair values to be
Building Long-Term Value
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY To maximize the long-term financial performance and value of a business, CPAs should help management focus on two key components of value creation: revenue growth and achieving a return on invested capital (ROIC) in excess of the weighted average cost of capital (WACC). A lower WACC
Accounting for Gift Cards
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The accounting for gift card sales presents an emerging reporting dilemma for retailers. Unresolved reporting issues stemming from the reporting treatment of gift card sales and “breakage” (gift cards that consumers fail to redeem) potentially involve several accounting regulations, including standards for revenue recognition and the
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SPONSORED REPORT
Preparing clients for new provisions next tax season
As the 2025 filing season approaches, H.R. 1 introduces significant tax reforms that CPAs must be prepared to navigate. These legislative changes represent some of the most comprehensive tax updates in recent years, affecting both individual and corporate taxpayers. This report provides in-depth analysis and guidance on H.R. 1.
From The Tax Adviser
September 30, 2025
Current developments in taxation of individuals: Part 1
August 30, 2025
2025 tax software survey
July 31, 2025
