Buyers perform exhaustive pre-acquisition due diligence of target companies that spans financial, tax, legal, IT, operational, marketing, HR, and other matters. Central to financial due diligence is the target’s earnings quality. Discussion of earnings quality usually focuses solely on recent historical EBITDA, normalized by making various adjustments. Of course, normalized EBITDA is critical information. [...]
Blockchain, meet accounting. I think you two will have a great relationship. You were practically made for each other. For every debit, there must be a credit. The foundation of accounting works so well that there haven’t been significant changes since Luca Pacioli's "double-entry" system was documented in the 1400's. Getting to its basic definition, [...]
In May, I had the opportunity to attend the annual Fair Value Conference organized by the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) in Los Angeles. As one may expect, a hot topic at the conference was the impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) signed into law by the Trump Administration on December 22nd [...]
I had intended to write a simple blog entry about taxable estate gifts and transfers, but I wound up circling the rabbit hole of IRC Section 2701. Section 2701, titled "Special valuation rules in case of transfers of certain interests in corporations or partnerships," sets forth valuation rules for gifts of certain interests in closely [...]
