April 2001

Business Valuation Experts to Speak at Conference

By Morton M. Cohen, CPA and Brian K. Pearson, CPA

Some of the country’s top business valuation experts will speak at the Foundation for Accounting Education’s Business Valuation Conference, which will take place June 18 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City.

Leading consultants with a wealth of experience in the healthcare and restaurant industries will present industry-specific valuation methods. Robert J. Cimasi, president of Health Capital Consultants, will discuss the valuation of healthcare intangible assets, including reimbursement and regulatory trends; developing case law, divestiture and recent transactions; and valuation concepts, and approaches, methods, and techniques for valuing these assets. Charles M. Perkins, president of the Boston Restaurant Group, will present a hands-on approach to valuing both chain establishments and independently owned restaurants.

Participants will learn how to maximize their use of transactional databases in closely held business valuations during a presentation by Shannon Pratt, managing director of Willamette Management Associates.

In addition, participants will gain insight into key issues regarding the use of restricted stock studies in quantifying marketability discounts from Christopher Mercer, president of Mercer Capital and a well-known author on valuation discounts.

Peter A. Mahler, a partner at the law firm of Derfner & Mahler in New York City who has practiced in the area of business litigation and shareholder disputes for many years, will present a legal perspective on fair value appraisals of New York’s closely held businesses. This topic should be of interest in light of various court decisions.

Michael J. Ostrow, a founding member of the law firm of Schlissel, Ostrow, Karabatos, Poepplein and Taub, will review current New York state case law in matrimonial valuations, a significant area of valuation.

The requirements and qualifications for becoming a court-appointed valuation expert, the court’s expectations for anyone assuming this role, and the need for neutrality will be among topics discussed by Supreme Court Justice Jacqueline W. Silbermann (New York County), the state’s top matrimonial judge.

In addition to the topics discussed—which will provide valuable knowledge to all business valuation professionals and CPAs who advise closely held business owners—the conference will serve as a unique opportunity to network with leading valuation professionals.