01
Purpose and standard of value
First conversation
Fair market value, fair value and investment value are different standards producing different numbers. Which one applies is determined by the purpose, and it is settled first.
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Advisory · Specialization
Valuation that holds up
Valuation that holds up
when someone disagrees.
Opinions of value for estate and gift filings, buy-sell agreements, shareholder disputes and equity compensation, written to be read by an examiner, a court or an opposing expert.
At a glance
Conclusions and calculations of value under AICPA valuation standards, for estate and gift filings, buy-sell provisions, shareholder disputes, 409A equity grants and ESOP transactions.
Who this suits
- Owners making gifts of company stock to family or trusts
- Companies with a buy-sell agreement nobody has valued in years
- Shareholder or marital disputes requiring an independent number
- Companies issuing options and needing defensible 409A support
- Boards considering an ESOP or a partial liquidity event
A valuation is only worth what it withstands.
Most valuations are prepared for a reader who has an interest in disagreeing: an examiner reviewing a gift tax return, opposing counsel in a dispute, a departing shareholder who believes the number is low. A report that states a conclusion without exposing the reasoning is worth very little in that room.
We work under AICPA valuation standards and write the report accordingly: methods considered and rejected with reasons, the market data actually used, and every discount for lack of control or marketability supported by evidence rather than by convention.
The distinction between a conclusion of value and a calculation of value is real and we make it explicitly. A calculation is cheaper and suits internal planning. It is not what you want attached to a gift tax return, and we will not let you file one as though it were.
Where the valuation is contested, the report has to survive cross-examination and so does its author. Our valuation engagements are partner-led from the first meeting for that reason, and we will tell you at the outset if we believe the number you are hoping for is not supportable.
Deliverables
What the report
What the report
contains.
Scope is agreed before work begins, including whether testimony is contemplated. Fees are never contingent on the conclusion.
Estate and gift valuations
Reports meeting adequate-disclosure requirements so the statute of limitations actually begins to run on the filed return.
Buy-sell agreement support
Valuations under the agreement’s own formula, plus a candid view on whether that formula still produces a sensible result.
Dispute and litigation support
Independent opinions for shareholder disputes, divorce and partnership dissolution, including deposition and trial testimony.
409A equity valuations
Safe-harbour valuations for option grants, refreshed on the schedule the safe harbour requires rather than when someone remembers.
ESOP and transaction support
Feasibility analysis and fairness support for employee ownership transitions and partial liquidity events.
Purchase price allocation
Identification and valuation of acquired intangibles for financial reporting and tax basis after a transaction closes.
How it runs
Data, analysis,
Data, analysis,
then a number.
The number comes last. Any engagement that starts with a target and works backwards produces a report nobody can defend.
02
Information and interviews
Two to three weeks
Financial history, forecasts, agreements, customer concentration and a management interview. Normalizing adjustments are identified and documented here.
03
Analysis
Three approaches considered
Income, market and asset approaches each considered on the record, with weighting explained rather than asserted.
04
Report and defense
Written, partner-signed
A full narrative report, a review meeting to walk you through the reasoning, and continued support if the conclusion is later challenged.
Related
More in Advisory
These sit next to each other for a reason: most engagements draw on two or three of them at once.
Advisory overview
Transaction AdvisoryQuality of earnings, buy- and sell-side diligence, working capital pegs, purchase price allocation.
Succession & Exit PlanningReadiness assessment, transition structures, management buy-outs, gifting programs.
Entity StructuringChoice of entity, holding company and multi-entity design, reorganizations, state footprint planning.
Private Client ServicesOwner and family returns, equity compensation, charitable planning, trust and estate coordination.
Valuation
Know the number
Know the number
before you need it.
Gift deadlines, buy-sell triggers and disputes rarely give notice. A valuation prepared calmly is a better valuation.