Personal Alignment: Balancing and Enjoying Life with Work

This presentation introduces the concept of self-identity and the many roles we hold as professionals, while also maintaining and nurturing our personal roles such as partners, parents, care givers and friends. Based on research, this session explores how professionals, entrepreneurs, business owners, educators, and even cooperate executives can successfully build boundaries and self-care, with productivity. Dr. Robyne Hanley-Dafoe will explore the benefits and challenges of holding professional roles while sharing practical and sustainable best practices for striking this ever-elusive balance. Robyne uses her Top 10 Tips for 'Life with Work Balance' that are research informed and readily available to all of us. Here, participants will learn how to transform common knowledge into common practice. Robyne's talk shares candid encounters with personal value identifiers and how practical practices can promote healthy habits and deep joy in your work through the fostering a steadfast sense of personal alignment and purpose with our work.

Session covers legal and financial aspects of damages. The session will provide a primer on understanding commercial damages from a legal perspective, including types of damages and remedies. The session will review the role financial professionals play in quantification of damages, including professional standards, methods and analyses.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify types of damages and remedies in litigation
• Evaluate professional standards applicable to financial professionals performing damage assessment engagements
• Identify components of lost profits damages measurements, including elements, methodology and financial analyses
• Recognize other types of damages measurements

There are three approaches to value: Income, Cost, Market approach and each approach looks at a business in different, but important ways. If you are doing the valuation and the approaches all come up with very different values, reconciling the approaches can be an important task in arriving at a reliable and supportable fair market value. This sessions will delve into ways to reconcile the approaches to arrive at values that corroborate each other.

Learning Objectives:

• Outline the 3 approaches and the important assumptions that are used in the approaches
• Discuss how the assumptions in each of the methods correlate to other assumptions in the other methods
• Discuss ways to adjust assumptions made to better correlate each of the approaches
• Walk through valuation examples that initially start being far apart and to correlate and arrive at a better supported valuation conclusion

The strategy of expert hot-tubbing has been used in a mediation, arbitration and pre-trial settings to assist counsel and the trier of fact in exploring and understanding complex expert analysis and opinions. This course will walk through a case study of an arbitration where the experts testified during a hot-tubbing session with the ability to openly question each other and discuss complex accounting issues, assumptions, and opinions to better-educate both Counsel and the Triers of Fact – in this case, an arbitration panel of attorneys and a judge.

Learning Objectives:

• • Learn about different expert hot-tubbing strategies
• • Explore both the advantages and risks of expert hot-tubbing
• • Tips on the do’s and don’ts during expert hot-tubbing

In this panel, Brian Schwartz and Stacy Collins will cover hot tips on a variety of challenging issues in matrimonial litigation. These will include but are not necessarily limited to: 1) Issues for jointly retained experts; 2) Difficulties in discovery; 3) Multiple valuation dates; 4) Effect of COVID on business valuation and income; 5) Reviewing books and records; and 6) Personal versus enterprise goodwill.

Learning Objectives:

• To discuss strategies for dealing with difficult valuation issues
• To present both the expert and attorney view on how to handle challenging issues in matrimonial litigation
• To address the unique challenges in the role of a jointly retained or court appointed expert

Quantifying what the future holds for companies is integral in valuation and forensic engagements and has never been more challenging. Economic contraction, expected recovery, political climate, supply chain disruption, and environmental regulations are just some of the factors impacting cash flow forecasts. This session will focus on navigating the uncertainty to prepare defendable cash flow forecasts. We will explore methods for preparing forecasts as well as resources and approaches to support the forecast assumptions. After attending this program, participants will be able to identify factors to consider in preparing forecasts, how to develop and support forecast assumptions, and resources to substantiate assumptions.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify qualitative and quantitative factors impacting the future cash flow for companies
• Apply methods for developing and evaluating forecast assumptions
• Using independent resources to support assumptions

Each bankruptcy is unique. And while facts and circumstances may vary from case to case, US GAAP requires the adoption of ASC 852, Reorganizations while an entity is in Chapter 11. “Accounting follows the legal” is a phrase often referenced when applying ASC 852, which is also viewed as a "presentation" standard for financial reporting.

This session is designed to introduce the fundamentals of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, focusing on reorganizations, and the US GAAP presentation under ASC 852 .... at the bankruptcy petition date, during the bankruptcy, and at emergence. The session will focus on the emergence accounting model discussed within ASC 852, known as Fresh-Start Reporting, and the financial statement presentation impacts of that accounting model.

Learning Objectives:

• Awareness of bankruptcy timelines, key milestones in a reorganization case, and terminology used in the Court and in accounting and reporting

Put simply, 2020 was a "noisy" year for many subject companies valued by our industry; however, beyond 2020, our profession evaluates subject companies going through volatile periods as well as industries that benchmark differently than the general economy frequently. These analyses may require extra analyses to assess appropriate estimations of normalized ongoing levels. Determining appropriate adjustments, margins, earnings, sales levels, etc, can provide to be a more rigorous analysis than otherwise in a mature business within a stable industry.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand why there is not one single formula or rule of thumb for estimation of ongoing levels
• Evaluate the appropriateness for adjustments in a volatile year and how these analyses must be performed in conjunction with estimating 'ongoing levels'
• Determine additional valuation considerations to review and assess

The Inclusion Imperative - We will be joined by Withum's Chief Talent Officer, Theresa Richardson and Director of Inclusion & Diversity, Bill Bradshaw for a fireside chat on all things talent including how to attract, retain and develop top talent. Though candid conversations, Theresa and Bill will share how Withum's efforts has enabled an engaged workforce through inclusion, diversity and equity.  Through these efforts, Withum has become a catalyst for growth and success making the firm a great place to work.

Learning Objectives:

• You will walk away with a business case around Inclusion and Diversity.
• As a result of the pandemic, we will share best practices around recruiting, self care and team member engagement.

This hands-on session will focus on Excel-based "Power" tools! We will explore Power Query which supercharges Excel's ability to connect, transform, combine, and load data. Additionally, we will explore Power Pivot which allow us to analyze large volumes of data from various sources and quickly present findings through Pivot Tables and Pivot Charts. Participants will have the ability to work through multiple real-world FVS use-cases using financial and non-financial data during the session.

Learning Objectives:

• Utilize Excel's Power Query tool to create an index of documents received from counsel.
• Utilize Power Query to un-pivot data tables.
• Explore Power Query tools to help import, clean, and transform data.
• Creating the link between external data and Excel's Power Pivot Data Model.

Experienced trial counsel and consultants will share successful strategies that have helped experts in complex damages cases testify more persuasively at trial. This panelists will discuss how experts can present damages as a compelling story and how they can effectively use graphics to help jurors better understand complex damages concepts and calculations.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how experts can effectively utilize graphics to present persuasive expert trial testimony in complex damages cases
• Learn how experts can effectively tell a persuasive "story" in complex damages cases
• Learn strategies for becoming a more persuasive expert at trial by utilizing effective presentation techniques

This seminar will present a quantitative approach for estimating active and passive appreciation of an ownership interest in a closely held business for purposes of equitable distribution in divorce. A case study illustrating the method will be presented.

• Review of representative case law and professional treatises

• Analysis of appreciation resulting from passive factors such as market forces and the efforts of third parties

• Analysis of appreciation attributable to the active efforts of the parties

• Case study illustrating the method.

Learning Objectives:

• To provide participants with an understanding of the relevant case law and principals relating to the treatment of active and passive appreciation
• To provide participants with a model for quantifying the active and passive components of appreciation

Business owners' management of the relationships among executives, board members, and shareholders can be an after-thought until disputes arise at which point the cost and risk to the business and its owners may be severe.    Forensic accountants and valuation professionals can play an important role in assisting business owners and their counsel in the evidentiary and valuation aspects of these matters.  This session will highlight the legal elements to shareholder oppression disputes and the limitations of certain perceived protective measures.  The session will then address the roles of financial experts, investigations into oppressive conduct, and valuations.  The session will close with case studies and examples for practical insights.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand Legal Elements and Common Techniques of Shareholder Oppression
• Understand the Role of the Financial Expert and Conducting Investigations into Shareholder Oppression
• Understand Valuation Implications involving Standards of Value and Other Relevant Aspects
• Observe Case Studies for Practical Insights for Supporting these Matters

In today's times, change is all around us - personally and in the workplace. How do you leverage your career and business development while learning and adapting to a new normal - or, rather, the evolving new normal.

Learning Objectives:

• Discuss best practices and tips in current career and business development
• Understand the importance of adapting and remaining relevant while developing your career during times of disruption and/or change

Healthcare valuations require an appraiser to understand the various regulations that only impact healthcare valuation, the trends in the healthcare market, and other healthcare specific terminology and nuances. this session to provide an appraiser an introduction to the various considerations an appraiser that works in this space needs to understand.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand current trends in healthcare transactions and the different valuation related services provided including business valuation, valuation of compensation arrangements, and valuation of lease arrangement s
• Understand the various nuances to healthcare valuations including terminology, benchmarks, regulations, and reimbursement trends.

Working capital analyses is an often under looked component of preparing a credible business valuation which can have a very large impact on the ultimate conclusion of valuation reached. Two experienced practitioners will guide the audience through the application of working capital principles beginning with the basic origins and theory of the concepts. The session will include a discussion of various sources of data available for use in the analyses. The session will also include real world examples using different methodologies and a discussion of best practices.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the theory behind working capital analyses
• Identify sources for market data
• Learn multiple methodologies for use in practice
• Avoid potential pitfalls inherent in working capital analyses

Risk assessments are part of the discipline of risk management, where enhanced frameworks and techniques have emerged. Risk management comprises the identification, assessment, and prioritization of risks followed by the coordinated and efficient use of resources to monitor, minimize, and otherwise control the impact of the risks on the organization.

Risks arise in many forms and can range from uncertainty in financial markets, operational failures, natural disasters, and pandemics, to legal liabilities and reputational harms.

This session will focus on fraud risk assessment and how to conduct the assessment and how to use it effectively.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn a best in class methodology for conducting a fraud risk assessment.
• Understand how to use the fraud risk assessment to enhance your ethics training.
• Identity common pitfalls in the fraud risk assessment process.

The presentation will cover highlights from this year's Annual Damages Case Law Update, along with an overview of the growing repository of case law briefs being accumulated for AICPA FVS members. The case law update will cover a mix of commercial damages and intellectual property cases.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the hierarchy of case law relevant to damages practitioners.
• Identify cases relevant to the determination of damages.

COVID-19 has had a profound and ongoing impact on financial markets and economies around the world. The recession that ensued was the worst since World War 2, but the recovery has been fast by historical patterns in places like the U.S. and China, due to the unprecedent support provided by monetary and fiscal policies. This session covers some of those trends and their impact on cost of capital assumptions and related valuation considerations.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the impact of fiscal policy on real GDP growth during the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent recovery
• Discuss the impact of major central banks’ monetary policies on safe-haven government bond yields
• Identify industries most impacted by the pandemic and those benefitting from the recovery
• Evaluate the adjustments that may be needed to projected growth in cash flows and discount rates

For experts, it is critical to understand the interplay of the various standards and state statutes that impact our practice. Navigating these standards and professional ethics at times can be challenging. This course will bring clarity by highlighting the overlap of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct, state statutes, SSVS and SSFS. After attending this program, participants will be able to prepare to answer deposition questions relative to code of professional conduct, identify ethical issues with opposing expert reports, recognize when SSFS #1 applies, and how to avoid ethical issues in practice.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the code of professional conduct to be prepared to respond to deposition questions
• Identify ethical issues with opposing expert reports
• Recognize when SSFS #1 applies to work
• Learn how to avoid ethical issues in practice

Open forum discussion on trends impacting the FVS profession – globalization, demand for services, competing and operating in a virtual environment, staffing, and credentialing.

Navigating Uncertainty: An Unconventional Approach

In this stimulating and entertaining talk, Dr. Vikram Mansharamani applies a unique combination of practitioner experience and academic perspective to help audiences navigate the seemingly unending crosscurrents of global economic, financial and geopolitical uncertainty. He explains how we got to the current world of protectionism, nationalism, populism, and currency conflicts and explores how the combination of political, social, technological, demographic, and economic pressures will impact future trends. After presenting several scenarios, he considers the risks and opportunities emerging from a recession or an escalation of global tensions. While audiences often find themselves agreeing with Dr. Mansharamani each step of the way, they’re frequently surprised by what turn out to be unconventional conclusions.

Prejudgment interest may be available to plaintiffs and claimants, depending on the type of claim, venue, and other factors. This session will describe factors commonly relevant to whether prejudgment interest is or may be available, what options are typically possible and what facts guide the expert's analysis, and how to perform and present prejudgment interest calculations.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand when prejudgment interest is available or possibly available
• Understand the role of the expert and how to investigate facts and present them, to assist in the evaluation of prejudgment interest and what calculation is appropriate
• Understand how to make prejudgment interest calculations

This panel will draw on decades of experience from three trial attorneys that have put on and cross examined countless expert witnesses, especially accountants. This discussion will focus on the things that experts do while on the stand to build rapport with the trier of fact and deliver the best expert testimony possible.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how best to build rapport with the trier of fact
• Learn how to demonstrate your objectivity and credibility
• Learn what not to do on the stand, and some of the critical failures by experts
• Gain an understanding of how a cross examiner struggles with a great witnesses

This session will focus on unique challenges faced by practitioners in the valuation of equity securities, private warrants, forfeiture shares, earnout shares, forward purchase agreements, founders shares, and other financial instruments of privately held companies on a SPAC exit path.  We will discuss the salient features of these instruments and the appropriate methodologies to value these instruments.  We will also focus on the unique aspects of the common stock valuation preceding the SPAC exit.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize unique challenges of SPAC related valuations.
• Recognize common financial instruments issued as part of the SPAC transaction.
• Recognize appropriate methodologies to be used in the valuation of private warrants, forfeiture shares, earnout shares, forward purchase agreements, and founders shares.

Hitchner will address the key issues and solutions in valuing, buying, and selling small businesses (less than $2 million in value, $2 million to $5 million in value, and $5 million to $10 million in value).

Learning Objectives:

• A detailed look at valuation methods and reliability
• Broker values vs. appraiser values
• Is there really a buy-a-job value?

-Discussion on the places we most often see unreported income

-How we identify unreport income

-The different types of unreported income

Learning Objectives:

• How to identify the amount of unreported income in a business
• How we use this number for different type of assignments. ie., personal injury - damage quantification, business and income valuations for family law

In this session we will explore how to properly use and interpret market multiples when performing valuations.  We will cover the sources of market multiples and what observed multiples tell you about how the market is assessing the cash flow, growth, and risk attributes of the corresponding businesses.  The session will conclude by illustrating how to adjust and apply observed market multiples in your valuations.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify sources of market multiples.
• Understand conceptual differences between different types of multiples.
• Adjust observed market multiples for application to valuation subject.

This session will leverage the experience of a seasoned attorney and testifying expert with over 45 years of combined experience to explore what to expect in providing testimony, including the differences between deposition, trial and arbitration testimony, along with the differences between a bench versus jury trial setting. The session's first half will be instruction based and the second half will include live mock testimony with breaks to explain the good, the bad and the ugly!

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the components, and differences between the attorney's vs. the expert's objectives during deposition
• Learn about the court room environment, and the do's and don'ts of trial testimony
• Analyze the differences between direct and cross examination
• Learn to tailor your testimony to the audience (Judge vs. Jury vs. Arbitrator)

Estimating Avoided Costs in Lost Profits Damage Claim Advanced Tools in Fixed v. Variable Cost Analysis - line item review - contracts affecting costs - regression - interviews - case law on this issue

Learning Objectives:

• Learn what costs should be included in a lost profits study
• Learn what methods can be used to estimate costs

Legend and legacy attribute money laundering risk to casinos. The inherent attractiveness to laundering the proceeds of crime of that sector include: facilities for cash placement; the reach of international wires; the availability of instruments with a legitimate justification; and, prestige. While schemes can be as simple as cash to chips to casino cheques, others are more complex, and can involve the jurisdiction shopping, and the collusion of internal staff. International bodies have recognized the attractiveness and exploitation of casinos - traditional, online, and illegal, and have provided recommendations to reduce the resulting risk. This session will review the risks, the international standards, and upper-range practices for deterrence, prevention, and detection.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the risks and vulnerabilities for the casino sector to money laundering.
• Be aware of the latest standards and trends in money laundering countermeasures for bricks and mortar and online casinos.

Secondaries investment has doubled to over $65 billion annually. The asset class is the hottest area of private equity capital in the last seven years. The surge since 2014-2015 has forced private equity sponsors, faced with record amounts of dry powder and arguable over-valuation in private markets, to seek later-stage LP interests ("traditional secondaries") or direct investments such as co-investments.

Fund valuation expert Justin Kuczmarski CPA/ABV/CEIV/CFF breaks down the market outlook and the opportunity for valuators to navigate secondary interest assignments and add-value to these fractional interest valuation engagements.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand Private Equity Secondaries and the Opportunities and Challenges in the Asset Class
• Analyze the Conceptual Fundamentals and Why Private Equity Secondaries Are Going

Forensic accountants are often called upon to produce a written report documenting their observations and conclusions. The content and structure are of great importance and likely will be the subject of significant scrutiny. The communication of complex concepts or subjects in a forensic accountant’s report is as equally important as the structure and content of the report. Whether communicated within the report or through demonstratives at trial, the visualization techniques to explain complex models can be the vital difference between the trier of fact understanding the complex subject or ignoring the forensic report due to a lack of understanding. This session will explore different types of reports, the general framework of the report structure and an overview of relevant standards. This session will also discuss how to demonstrate complex topics with visual techniques in a report and provide examples of visualization methods and graphical illustrations. Finally, the session will discuss tips and best practices, as well as identify certain pitfalls forensic accountants should seek to avoid, in preparing their reports.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the different types of reports and the applicable standards.
• Identify important elements that should be included in the report.
• Recognize when complex information needs to be expressed graphically or through illustrations.
• Learn different illustration methods that can be used to display information both in a report and trial demonstratives.
• Learn best practices and pitfalls to avoid in preparing and communicating their report.

This distinguished panel will tackle the tricky part of valuation by addressing the tough issues, Including:

• Discounts and premiums for minority and control valuations
• What tax rates to use in an S Corp valuation?
• Are S Corp premiums valid?
• Cost of capital resources and reliability
• What does company specific risk really capture?
• How to determine long-term growth
• Valuation reliability before, during, and after COVID
• The market approach before, during, and after COVID
• A new look at premises of value
• Financial forecasts in periods of great uncertainty
• Is there really an optimal capital structure?
• What is normal in normalization adjustments in minority and control valuations?
• The tension between “known or knowable,” subsequent events, and hypothetical conditions under SSVS and USPAP

Learning Objectives:

• Address tough valuation issues faced by our profession
• Discuss various valuation inputs and their implications in current environment

As the headlines over the past few years make clear, public and private companies alike face a host of different issues—from employment, to complex accounting and disclosure matters, to allegations of criminal misconduct—that require further review, investigation and, in appropriate cases, remediation. Not all issues need to be addressed in the same way. Some can be handled by in-house lawyers, compliance and human resources, while others need to be addressed by outside counsel and/or truly independent counsel with the assistance of forensic accountants and experts. Come learn best practices regarding how these investigations should be designed and how counsel and forensic experts can work together to get the best result for the client.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the decision-making process regarding when to initiate an internal investigation
• Discuss best practices on how to design and conduct an internal investigatin
• Understand how forensic experts can effectively work directly with company counsel, or outside counsel, to conduct an investigation

The Advanced personal injury and wrongful death session will address some of the more difficult and unusual topics including: calculating losses in child/adolescent cases when there are confounding circumstances; calculating economic losses in cases involving union members, receiving early pension benefits; calculating losses for business owners; and life care plan computations. We will also discuss the use of worklike tables.

Learning Objectives:

• Learn how to estimate losses for business owners large and small
• Calculating losses for union members
• Estimating losses arising from death or injury of a child or adolescents

Join us for a dialog about the impacts to businesses working to recover from significant cyber incidents.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the anatomy of a data breach
• understand the elements of business resilience
• improve upon your understanding of how organizations bounce back from significant cyber events

Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors are of increasing importance in making investment decisions and monitoring investment performance. In this session we will discuss qualitative and quantitative ESG measurement techniques, the objectivity of such measurements and the potential impact on fiduciary duty.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the qualitative and quantitative valuation implications of ESG focused investments.
• Discuss quantitative measurement framework for valuing ESG inititatives.
• Explore the fiduciary impact of ESG initiatives and the intersection with measuring value.

A review of elder fraud, committed by individuals in positions of trust and predatory strangers and estate litigation by beneficiaries. Two forms of financial victimization that target the elder before and after death. This session will discuss the rise in elder fraud issues that target seniors using online or over the phone methods to extract money. The session will also discuss estate litigation in the context of an ageing baby boomer generation with an impending significant transfer of wealth and discuss how a forensic accountant can get involved when allegations of fraud arise.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the forms of financial victimization that target the elder before death.
• Understand the forms of financial victimization that target elder estates after death.
• Demonstrate how a forensic accountant can get involved when allegations of fraud arise.

This session will describe the role of CPAs and Business Valuators who should provide expert testimony under the Rules of Evidence, Civil Procedure, and Professional Conduct, but where the expert has instead become a paid "hired gun" for their client. The presenter has given expert testimony in over 180 cases and will discuss judicial decisions relating to financial valuation and damage quantification where the court admonished the CPA or Business Valuator for conduct unbecoming, such as "please-my-patron" bias, lack of impartiality, intellectual dishonesty, advocacy, or violation of the Rules. This session will cite from numerous cases in which courts have expressed their outrage regarding certain expert witness testimony and will suggest how to insulate against attack by the cross-examiner.

Learning Objectives:

• Distinguish between the expectations and requirements that apply to the expert who prepares a financial expert's report, and the expert's respective obligations to the client and to the court
• Distinguish between a valuation report prepared for non-dispute purposes and an expert's report prepared for litigation.

Economic loss to a business plaintiff may be assessed as either lost profits or lost business value.  This session will explore the similarities and differences between the two approaches, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the similarities and differences between lost profits and business valuation.
• Reconcile lost profits to lost business value.
• Understand whether lost profits can exceed the value of the business.

Digital Assets, which include Cryptocurrencies, are increasingly becoming a focus of speculation and investment. Digital Asset acceptance and use is progressing at an accelerated pace. Regulators are seeking to keep up with changes in the Digital Asset landscape while not stifling innovation. This session will discuss macro considerations with respect to defining and valuing Digital Assets for various purposes, primarily financial reporting.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the definition of Digital Assets and the applicable valuation framework based on the basis of value.
• Discuss valuation techniques for specific Digital Asset types.
• Understand interaction between basis value and basis of reporting for Digital Assets.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress authorized the largest stimulus relief package in U.S. history, offering hundreds of billions of dollars to businesses suffering economic hardships through a variety of initiatives including the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, Provider Relief Fund, Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, and the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Federal investigators and prosecutors have mobilized quickly to combat fraud in connection with these programs and to ensure that relief funds were disbursed, and spent, properly. This session will explore the fast-moving landscape of pandemic-fueled investigations and prosecutions, with a focus on the early criminal prosecutions, anticipated enforcement trends, and identifying areas of risk for recipients of federal aid. The panel will also address the increasing use of civil penalty statutes such as the False Claims Act and FIRREA, and the key role of whistleblowers in rooting out possible fraud. In the face of this unprecedented wave of federal scrutiny of businesses receiving COVID-19 relief, the opportunities for white-collar criminal defense lawyers and forensic accountants are greater than at any point in recent history.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Explore the various areas ripe for criminal and regulatory inquiry after the multiple economic stimulus packages passed by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
• 2. Explore the demographic of an investigative target for pandemic related fraud looks like, and why it is dramatically different this time around;
• 3. Understand civil liability under the FCA and FIRREA statutes and the significant role that whistleblowers and qui tam litigation will play;
• 4. Highlight the greater than ever synergies between forensic accountants and white collar defense lawyers in the wake of the pandemic; and
• 5. Predict future trends as the United States experiences what may be the largest criminal and regulatory investigation in the nation’s history.

The virtual courtroom is here to stay.  Even the most experienced witness has to adopt to testifying over Zoom, Skype, Team and the other virtual platforms, just as theatre actors had to adopt to 'talkies', the big and small screens, and now podcasts.  As with any other paradigm shift,  you cannot simply package your old wines in new bottles: You need to obtain a whole different set of skills to the new medium, because, as Marshall McLuhan so aptly put it, "the medium is the message".   This session introduces you to the skills you need to learn to captivate your forensic audience in the virtual courtroom.

Learning Objectives:

• to understand how the virtual courtroom has changed the nature of testimony
• to understand how you have to change the way you testify in this new environment

The TCJA doubled the lifetime gift exemption through 2025. However, the results of the 2020 election created considerable uncertainty to the longevity of the changes effected by the TCJA. Potential pre-election plans propose to reverse the lifetime exemption to prior levels or lower and to reduce or eliminate the tax basis step-up on inherited assets among other considerable changes. If these changes are enacted, they could have extreme tax impacts on estate planning. This session will cover the current status of potential and enacted tax law changes, fundamental gift and estate strategies, and discuss important considerations for 2021 and beyond.

Learning Objectives:

• Summarize status of potential and enacted tax law changes
• Identify recent and prospective strategies and considerations for estate and gift planning
• Understand timely topics impacting practitioners performing valuations for tax purposes in the current environment

This session will examine the current state of affairs in the world of marketability discounts.  We will survey the most commonly used techniques, trends in recent court decisions, and analyze the characteristics of a subject interest that influence the magnitude of the marketability discount.

Learning Objectives:

• Compare common techniques for estimating marketability discounts.
• Examine recent court decisions that discuss the discount for lack of marketability.
• Assess the characteristics that influence the magnitude of the marketability discount for business ownership interests.
• Evaluate the interaction of the S election and marketability discounts.

During this panel discussion, the presenters (who include representatives from the AICPA Business Combinations task force, which is developing an Accounting and Valuation Guide on this topic, and a tangible asset valuation expert) will discuss frequently identified issues that arise from FASB ASC 842, Leases, which dramatically changed accounting for leases. In this session, we’ll address a variety of issues including the impact of the new leasing guidance on: • Market and income approaches for purposes of business valuation • Business combinations, including IRR and asset valuation (such as right-of-use assets) • Impairment testing under FASB ASC 360, including the valuation of right-of-use assets

Learning Objectives:

• Market and income approaches for purposes of business valuation
• Business combinations, including IRR and asset valuation (such as right-of-use assets)
• Impairment testing under FASB ASC 360, including the valuation of right-of-use assets

As the global coronavirus pandemic enters its second year, state and local government agencies remain at the forefront of distributing emergency aid to individuals who have lost their jobs, are going hungry, and may be facing eviction or foreclosure. Unfortunately, with billions of dollars approved for COVID-19 relief aid, fraudsters and scammers have a huge opportunity to divert that money from the people who need it and make themselves rich. Given the urgent demand for relief, governments can focus on deployment rather than controls which creates many opportunities for fraud. The types of Fraudsters in this area can include government staff responsible for distributing funds, citizens / companies who falsify applications to obtain funds they are not entitled to, those who engage in identity theft to apply for funds on behalf of others etc. In this session, we will review the most prevalent types government benefits related frauds that have occurred during the COVID 19 pandemic and the prevention tactics that can be implemented to reduce these fraud types in the future.

Learning Objectives:

• Review and understand the most typical fraud practices used to access government relief funds related to COVID 19 in Canada and the United States.
• Understand certain prevention tactics that can implemented by governments to reduce or eliminate fraud.
• The role of the forensic accountants in both detecting and preventing fraud perpetrated to access government relief funds.

• Carried Interest
• Performance Fees
• Reasonable Compensation
• Restricted Stock Units
• Stock Options

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the structure / components of alternative asset management such as hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, etc.
• Learn how various types of compensation such as carried interest, performance fees, etc. impact income available for support and property division
• Discussion of various apportionment methods of equity interest, such as time rule, concurrent and sequential vesting

COVID-19 has impacted business and industries in various and significant ways. Join us for a lively discussion of the intersection of law and valuation principles in the current COVID-19 environment. We will address perspectives from outside counsel and experts on intellectual property damages claims including, the reliance on pre- and post-negotiation data, foreseeability, known and knowable events, and the usefulness of discount rates to account for unprecedented economic challenges.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand how the business impacts of COVID affect current and future lost profits calculations in patent infringement matters.
• Understand the implication of the business impacts of COVID on the determination of a reasonable royalty measure of damages in patent infringement matters.
• Understand valuation issues that relate to what is known or knowable at the time of the valuation.

From Serta, Caesars Palace, and J-Crew, leading private credit managers have battled it out in the last five years across high-profile restructurings that saw creditors wage war on fellow creditors for companies impacted by asset raids or lien jumping. The new term "creditor vs. creditor violence" focuses on a range of legal and valuation factors facing equity investors and the full range of credit investors.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze Distressed Credit Valuation Opportunities and Challenges
• Cover the Blend of Valuation, Accounting, and Restructuring Fundamentals Impacting Credit Investments

Construction projects are complex, as are the claims and damage calculations that result when a project isn’t executed as expected. This session will examine typical claims that arise on construction projects and the role of the forensic accountant in quantifying damages. We will also explore other related areas the forensic accountant is able to assist, such as construction defect litigation and construction cost analysis on behalf of the owner.

Learning Objectives:

• Understand the forensic accountant’s role and the interplay with other experts
• Understand the various claims and associated damage theories
• Review of calculations for typical claims, such as: delay, disruption, acceleration, extra costs, etc.
• Explore damages in the context of construction defect litigation and construction cost audits

This session presents step-by-step practical examples of how to address common challenges in IRC 409A valuations and in the valuation of debt with embedded derivatives, anti-dilution rights, warrants, options and profit interests as compensation. We will provide examples of suitable methodologies to estimate series volatility, including examples of delta-partitioning. We will discuss how to estimate Discounts for Lack of Marketability based on latest tax and accounting guidance, including consideration of qualitative and quantitative factors. We will examine differences in the valuation of private equity instruments as stock-based compensation under IRC 409A and under the fair value standard (ASC 820/ASC 718).

Learning Objectives:

• Develop a model for the valuation of debt with embedded derivatives, anti-dilution rights, warrants, options and profit interests as compensation.
• Illustrate how to construct a delta—partitioning model to estimate series volatility for equity instruments in a complex capital structure.
• Apply Discounts for Lack of Marketability under various Put Option Models as applicable to 409A valuations

• Detailing consequential provisions of the AML Act of 2020 including the Corporate Transparency Act
• Implications of the legislation and implementing regulations
• How to pivot financial institution programs to reflect the new realities
• Hot button topics and key industries trends and application of best practices in AML