December 17, 2019

Business Valuation Reports and Engagement Letters

An ADVANCED Look at the Beginning and the End of a Valuation

**Includes WORD Versions of a
Detailed Report and Engagement Letter **

Jim Hitchner, CPA/ABV/CFF, ASA

• Managing Director, Financial Valuation Advisors
• CEO, Valuation Products and Services
• President, The Financial Consulting Group
• Coauthor, Hitchner Pratt Fishman, A Consensus View Q&A Guide to Financial Valuations
• Coauthor, Discount for Lack of Marketability Guide and Toolkit
• Coauthor, Financial Valuation Applications and Models, 4th edition
• Coauthor, PPC’s Guide to Business Valuations, 29th edition
• Former member of the AICPA BV Standards Writing Task Force
• Inductee in the AICPA BV Hall of Fame

The main highlight of this session will be the review of a WORD version of a detailed sample report that is in conformity with the standards of AICPA, ASA, IBA and NACVA and a review of an engagement letter. You will learn just about everything you ever wanted to know about reports and engagement letters.

Learning Objectives:

Using sample report language and examples, the participant will learn:

• What needs to go into a detailed BV report that is in compliance with BV standards
• About the use of summary reports, review reports, calculation reports, oral reports, and no reports
• About the use of protective and risk-management language in both reports and engagement letters
• How to properly use addendums, appraisal representations/certifications, assumptions and limited conditions
• About troublesome words, sentences, and paragraphs that are often inappropriately included in reports and engagement letters
• Alternative methods of wording engagement letters
• Types of language that help with collections
• Language that will help if a dispute arises with an engagement

Webinar Outline:

• Sample language and examples to include in your detailed reports
  • Front summary language, including: terms, definitions, disclaimers, caveats, scope of work, list of documents relied upon, procedures performed, restrictions or limitations, distribution, and level of reliance
  • Adherence to BV reporting standards (AICPA, ASA, IBA, and NACVA)
  • Presentation and reconciliation of values and methods
  • Conclusion of value
  • Assumptions and limiting conditions and valuation representation/certification
• Sample language and examples NOT to include in your reports
• The best way to organize your report
• Citing references for definitions, concepts, and applications
• The use and abuse in relying upon canned economic data 
• Reliance on RMA and other types of benchmark data
• Quantitative and qualitative weightings of values
• Length of reports, types of reports, and when they should be used
  • Full/detailed
  • Summary/letter
  • Calculation
  • Oral
  • Valuation review of another analyst’s work product
  • Rule 26
  • No report
• Sample language and examples to include in your engagement letters
  • Fees, retainers, billing, invoicing, and collections
  • Disputes, resignation, and withdrawal
  • Responsibility for payment
  • Limiting conditions
  • Confidentiality
  • Scope of services
  • Indemnification
  • Arbitration/mediation
  • Acceptance – who signs?
  • Privacy, ownership, and use of materials
  • Conflicts of interest

Handouts: 

Participants will be able to download the following:

• VPS webinar PowerPoint slides
• Sample detailed report
• Sample engagement letter

Following the webinar, attendees will receive an interactive video of the webinar showing the audio synced to the slide presentation in real time