Goodwill
Goodwill must be valued for a number of reasons, the most common being for purposes of marital divorce, income taxes, and mergers and acquisitions. Appraisers know that goodwill—the intangible items that make up a business including reputation, customer loyalty, intellectual property, and the like—is a fundamental concept they have to master as it can have a significant impact on the value of a business. Yet, the concept of goodwill (enterprise and personal) can be subject to a lot of judgment and has triggered much debate. Here, we offer the profession’s best resources and tools that can help you navigate this nuanced, but important, valuation consideration.
Guides & Books
Understanding Business Valuation - 6th Edition
February 2022
In this exciting new edition of Understanding Business Valuation, Gary Trugman takes his characteristic talent for simplifying the technical and complex to even greater heights. In his easy-to-read and understand style he covers all the bases with valuation approaches, methods, and techniques. Trugman identifies critical points in his callout notes throughout the publication.
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Benchmarking Identifiable Intangibles and Their Useful Lives in Business Combinations, Third Edition
August 2021
Benchmark data is used to help support the allocation of intangible assets and the estimation of remaining useful lives for a purchase price allocation (PPA). Now in its third edition, Benchmarking Identifiable Intangibles and Their Useful Lives in Business Combinations delivers a compilation of reported, vetted and carefully analyzed data, particularly focused on useful lives of intangible assets as reflected in almost 16,000 purchase price allocations
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Financial Valuation: Applications and Models, + Website, 4th Edition
April 2017
Financial Valuation: Applications and Models provides authoritative reference and practical guidance on the appropriate, defensible way to prepare and present business valuations. With contributions from 30 top experts in the field, this new edition provides an essential resource for those seeking the most up-to-date guidance, with a strong emphasis on applications and models.
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Business Valuation Yearbook 2016
February 2016
Keep up with business valuation’s most innovative approaches and techniques, new court decisions, and regulatory and professional standards updates. BVR has you covered with the Business Valuation Update Yearbook 2016. This newest edition from the publishers of Business Valuation Update covers the year’s most groundbreaking and thought-provoking advancements
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BVR Legal and Court Case Yearbook 2016
February 2016
The BVR Legal and Court Case Yearbook 2016 is essential for business appraisers and attorneys who want to stay ahead of their peers on the most important legal issues confronting business valuation. With in-depth analysis from BVR’s legal team, the lessons learned in this book help appraisers come to better and more defensible valuation conclusions.
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What It's Worth: Architecture and Engineering Firm Value (PDF)
December 2015
In this BVR special report, What It's Worth: Architecture and Engineering Firm Value, experts home in on these issues to help business valuators, business brokers, and A/E practice owners understand the nuances to valuing a firm, along with data analysis that reveals the latest benchmarks in A/E firm value.
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What It's Worth: Accounting Firm Value (PDF)
November 2015
BVR’s new What It’s Worth series starts out with Accounting Firm Value, which offers an in depth look at the value drivers in and the valuation of accounting firms. This report contains vital advice from industry experts for both firm owners and the appraisers who value them. These experts share their vast knowledge and best practices, which will bring readers up-to-date on the pressing issues and key drivers of practice value, along with data analysis that shows the latest benchmarks in accounting firm valuation.
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What It's Worth: Veterinary Practice Value (PDF)
November 2015
BVR’s new special report, What It’s Worth: Veterinary Practice Value, brings business appraisers, practice owners, and potential buyers up-to-date on the current market trends and key drivers of vet practice value. This report provides important benchmarking data and valuation rules of thumb, along with expert guidance on professional practice issues such as goodwill, covenants not to compete, and common valuation errors and challenges.
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Business Valuation Update Yearbook 2015
February 2015
BVR has you covered with the latest news in the business valuation profession! Get your Business Valuation Update Yearbook 2015 now to stay up to date with the most innovative approaches and techniques, leading conferences, new court decisions and changes in regulations and standards in the profession with on-the-ground reporting from valuation experts, thought-leaders and the BVR editorial team.
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BVR Legal and Court Case Yearbook 2015
February 2015
The BVR Legal and Court Case Yearbook 2015 is essential for business valuation professionals and attorneys to stay current on the most important legal issues confronting the profession. The Yearbook covers marital disputes, breach of contract actions, damages, dissenting shareholder disputes, estate and gift tax cases, federal taxation, intellectual property cases, bankruptcy litigation, and more.
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Guide to Intangible Asset Valuation
November 2014
This 700-page book, published by the AICPA, explores the disciplines of intangible asset valuation, economic damages, and transfer price analysis. Guide to Intangible Asset Valuation examines the economic attributes and the economic influences that create, monetize, and transfer the value of intangible assets.
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BVR's Guide to Personal v. Enterprise Goodwill, Fifth Edition
August 2012
BVR's Guide to Personal v. Enterprise Goodwill delivers first-hand knowledge and the most important issues in goodwill with expertise from Mark Dietrich, Ron Seigneur, Kevin Yeanoplos, Jay Fishman, Shannon Pratt, David Wood, Noah Gordon, and more. Save valuable research time with the one resource that every BV professional needs to have in their business valuation library.
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Valuing Goodwill in Divorce (PDF)
July 2011
BVR's Special Report on Valuing Goodwill in Divorce addresses the difference between personal and enterprise goodwill, and discusses treatment of goodwill in the context of a divorce dispute. This special report also includes BVR's Goodwill Hunting guide, a state-by-state summary of the precedent-setting court cases affecting the handling of goodwill in marital dissolution.
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Training
Black Scholes Option Model: Global Education by iiBV (eLearning Course)
The Black Scholes Option Model was first published in 1973, but the applicability in valuation is strong to this day. Join iiBV expert Andrew Strickland as he dissects and explains the various components of the models, and how they can be utilized in your valuation.
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Excel for Valuation: Beginner to Advanced (eLearning course)
Whether you're new to the field or a veteran business valuation practitioner, there is no tool more critical than Excel. BVR's new eLearning course, "Excel for Valuation: Beginner to Advanced," will catapult your Excel knowledge and skills so you can work as efficiently as possible with spreadsheets, formulas and functions. You can customize the course to match your skill level; start with the very basics or jump right into more complex areas. The eLearning combination of video, notes, take-away templates, quizzes, and exercises ensure you will remain thoroughly engaged for the duration of the course.
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International Business Valuation Standards and Ethics (eLearning course)
Valuation is a global profession, and for many that means complying with the new 2020 International Valuation Standards and Code of Ethical Principles. This comprehensive eLearning course delivers what you need to know to demonstrate global valuation competency and understand the significant changes to the standards. See practical and relevant examples by working through an actual case study that follows all of the logical steps of a valuation engagement. Hold yourself to a higher global standard and be prepared to venture wherever your next valuation assignment takes you.
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International Cost of Capital: Global Education by iiBV (eLearning course)
The income approach is the most relied upon approach for most valuations, and determining the cost of capital for your engagement for a non-U.S. company is often difficult due to lack of local data. Utilizing commonly applied models in developing international cost of capital, such as relative volatility models or country yield spread models, is critical for success. Learn the shortcomings of each model in terms of their ability to capture the systematic and unsystematic risk in a subject company.
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Masterclass in the Valuation of Family Limited Partnerships and LLCs (eLearning course)
As professional appraisal methodology has advanced, so has the valuation of family limited partnerships (FLPs) and limited liability companies (LLCs). Adopting an analytical method for valuing FLPs and LLCs using the income and market approaches allows appraisers to more accurately and objectively determine a value that can withstand the scrutiny of IRS challenges. Experts Bruce Johnson, Jim Park, and Spencer Jefferies conduct case studies to teach the best practices for valuing noncontrolling, nonmarketable FLP and LLC interests.
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Monte Carlo: Applications, Examples and Best Practices for Valuation (eLearning course)
As complexity and uncertainty continue to increase, business valuation experts must up their game to master the challenges that accompany today's engagements. Rise to – and soar beyond – the occasion using Monte Carlo simulations, an indispensable method for advanced valuation scenarios. This eLearning course, "Monte Carlo: Applications, Examples and Best Practices for Valuation" distills the best instruction and content on the topic.
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Valuing Early Stage Companies: Global Education by iiBV (eLearning course)
Early stage companies are challenging to value. Often with undeveloped or even no revenue these companies require a unique set of tools for a business valuer. Learn the common models used to deploy valuations in this area such as the Current Value Method, Option Pricing Model, and the Probability Weighted Expected Return Method (PWERM), along with their shortcomings.
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Valuing Intangible Assets: Global Education by iiBV (eLearning course)
Every valuation professional needs to be able to identify the differences between intangible and tangible assets. The first step is to define the major categories of intangible assets and understand the common models used to determine value. Often the purpose of intangible valuation is for financial reporting contexts, including purchase price allocation. Join Jon Barton in this fundamental eLearning course that builds on core valuation concepts with in depth lectures and Excel-based case studies.
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Valuing Minority Interests: Global Education by iiBV (eLearning course)
Valuing a partial interest in a business is difficult, and when that interest is a minority ownership stake the impact to value can be significant. In this eLearning course, led by John Barton, you’ll learn methods to adjust for and quantify minority discounts. Control is a key issue, and understanding the multiple methods an appraiser can utilize is critical to a defensible valuation.
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28
/ March
2024
Is There or Isn’t There Goodwill: Expert Disagreements
11
/ December
2019
Pure vs. Salable Personal Goodwill: Drilling Down in Divorce Valuations
07
/ November
2019
The Fair Commission Model for Valuing Goodwill in Small Service Businesses
18
/ September
2019
Goodwill: A Discussion and a Debate
25
/ June
2019
Active/Passive Appreciation in Divorce
02
/ January
2019
Dividing Goodwill: A Case Study in Active and Passive Appreciation
25
/ January
2017
The Double Dipping Debate
09
/ August
2016
Goodwill: Let's Get Personal
15
/ September
2015
Forecasting Cost of Capital in Healthcare Valuations
Deal & Market Data
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News & Research
Business Valuation Update
The Business Valuation Update (BVU), a monthly newsletter with searchable online access, includes new thinking from leading professionals, detailed reports from valuation conferences, analysis of new business valuation approaches, thorough analysis of “landmark” legal cases in key business valuation issues, regulatory and standards updates, and much more.
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BVLaw
Turn to the exclusive BVLaw collection, which includes case digests and court opinions for thousands of business valuation and damages cases that deal with economic damages, lost profits, estate and gift tax, divorce, shareholder repression, partnership dissolution, securities litigation, and more.
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Blog Posts
05
/ January
2023
Tennessee Divorce Value for Plastic Surgeon Raises Some Disturbing Questions
In this Tennessee appellate divorce decision, the court affirmed the valuation of the husband’s plastic surgeon practice from the trial court. Read more >>
05
/ April
2019
Valuing goodwill in divorce: State-by-state breakdown of enterprise & professional goodwill jurisprudence
Appraisers working on divorce cases know that goodwill is a fundamental concept they have to master. What makes it challenging is that divorce is a state matter and that different states adhere to different rules as to how to treat goodwill. BVR is excited to offer legal and valuation professionals a handy reference guide that includes a state-by-state breakdown of goodwill jurisprudence Read more >>
13
/ June
2018
Can a nonprofessional business have personal goodwill? Arkansas court explains
Arkansas is one of the many states that differentiate between enterprise goodwill and personal goodwill. The former is marital property and divisible at divorce; the latter is not. A question that has come up in recent years is whether the owner of a nonprofessional business can claim personal goodwill whose value is excludable from the marital estate. Read more >>
01
/ September
2017
NJ court’s goodwill ruling comes in for harsh criticism from appellate panel
The flashpoint in a protracted New Jersey divorce proceeding was the valuation of the owner spouse's equity partner interest in a large law firm. A critical issue was whether the value of the interest should include an additional amount stemming from the firm's enterprise goodwill. The trial court's decision elicited stinging criticism from the appellate court. Read more >>
16
/ August
2017
WA court’s goodwill analysis looks a lot like appreciation analysis
A recent Washington state divorce case included a noteworthy discussion of goodwill where the owner spouse’s business arguably was separate property. Divorce experts will notice that the court’s goodwill analysis has much in common with an appreciation analysis. Read more >>
28
/ March
2017
Comments wanted on simplified MUM for personal goodwill
What do you think of this method a valuation expert and forensic accountant uses for allocating goodwill between its enterprise and personal components? Read more >>
22
/ March
2017
Trail income is different from personal goodwill, Tennessee court clarifies
Tennessee does not consider personal goodwill in a solo proprietorship a marital asset. But what about trail income, the money a financial planner makes from managing his or her clients’ funds and portfolios? In Fuller v. Fuller, the owner-spouse argued the goodwill analysis applied to the treatment of trail income as well. The Tennessee Court of Appeals recently disagreed. Read more >>
05
/ October
2016
Valuation of key marital asset demands expert opinion
In a Mississippi divorce, the husband's sole-owned fitness training company was the key asset. An accurate valuation was central to achieving an equitable distribution of property, but the parties did not hire experts or even submit much financial information to the trial court. Read more >>
11
/ May
2016
Why Bankruptcy Court declines to be bound by divorce valuation
Following the divorce, the husband filed for Chapter 13 bankruptcy and asked for confirmation of his plan. The issue was whether the plan could meet the liquidation test applicable under the Bankruptcy Code’s section 1325(a)(4). In essence, the test requires that creditors in a Chapter 13 bankruptcy receive present value payments that are at least equal to the amount the creditors would receive in a Chapter 7 case. Read more >>
29
/ March
2016
Florida court explores scope of active/passive appreciation
A Florida appeals court examines the issue of whether the increased value of stock from a company for which the owning spouse works can be a marital asset and subject to distribution. Read more >>