Continuing Professional Education on Business Valuation & Litigation
Wednesday, July 29, 2026, 1:00 – 3:00 PM ET
Beyond the Multiple: Advanced Market Approach Techniques for Transaction Data Analysis
Speakers: Bethany Hearn, CPA/ABV/CFF and Tiffany Mellow, CPA/ABV
Webinar Description
This session moves beyond the basic selection of market multiples and focuses on how valuation professionals can assess the reliability and comparability of transaction data. Participants will begin with a brief refresher on the market approach and common pricing multiple formulas. The presentation will then address statistical tools used to evaluate dispersion, relationships among variables, and predictive usefulness within market datasets. Using transaction examples, participants will consider how adjustments may be necessary for revenue recognition differences, EBITDA normalization, working capital, owner compensation, growth expectations, and deal terms.
Learning Objectives
After completing this session, participants should be able to:
- Describe the market approach and calculate common valuation multiples using observed transaction data.
- Interpret coefficient of variation, correlation, and regression results in the context of comparable company and transaction analyses.
- Recognize transaction characteristics that may require adjustment before deriving or applying market multiples.
- Compare adjusted and unadjusted multiples to assess the effect of data normalization on indicated value.
- Document the rationale for market multiple selection in a manner suitable for valuation workpapers or expert reports.
Handouts:
- VPS Webinar slides
- Following the webinar, attendees will have access to a video recording of the program
About the Presenters:
Bethany Hearn, CPA/ABV/CFF, is a partner at MH CPA PLLC in Champaign, Illinois, leading the firm’s Transaction Services group. With over 35 years of experience, she specializes in valuation and litigation support services for privately held companies and attorneys, covering areas such as succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, marital dissolution, shareholder disputes, and gift and estate tax valuations. She is a co-author for the Fifth Edition of Financial Valuation: Applications and Models, an instructor for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ (AICPA) National Business Valuation School and is one of America’s Top CPAs in Valuation Services for 2025 by Forbes.
Ms. Hearn is a licensed CPA in the state of Illinois, Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV), and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF). She has provided expert witness testimony on valuation and forensic-related matters in multiple states. Additionally, she regularly teaches on valuation topics for professional organizations and at conferences and has served in various leadership roles within the Forensic and Valuations Services section of the AICPA.
Tiffany is a shareholder at Perkins & Company, P.C. in Portland, Oregon and leads the firm’s Business Valuation and Litigation Support practice. With almost 15 years of experience, she specializes in valuation services for estate and gift planning, charitable gift tax compliance, estate tax, succession planning, buying and selling businesses (including quality of earnings and due diligence), marital dissolution, and shareholder oppression, to name a few. She’s also a go-to resource for consultation services and for litigation/testimony. She is currently serving on the AICPA Business Valuation Committee, the AICPA Scholarship Foundation Committee, is an ABV champion for the state of Oregon and is one of America’s Top CPAs in Oregon in 2026 by Forbes.
She is a second-career accountant, starting her professional life with the intention of being a marriage and family therapist, with an BS in Psychology from the University of Oregon (go Ducks!). I got my post-baccalaureate in Accounting from Linfield University and started my CPA journey after a volunteer experience preparing taxes for AARP’s Tax Aide program.
Continuing Professional Education on Business Valuation & Litigation
Jim Hitchner’s Valuation Products and Services (VPS) provides tools to assist practitioners in business valuation, litigation services, and forensics and fraud.
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