Business Valuations: When You Would Need One

Environmental, Social and Governance (“ESG”) factors have gained increasing importance in recent years as society has become more aware of how corporate conduct affects stakeholders, the environment and humanity at large. From issues such as climate change to socially responsible...

During the course of matrimonial disputes, there are often situations where solicitors and their clients find it helpful to engage specialist consultants. Forensic accountants can assist at various stages of divorce proceedings, in order to provide a clearer picture of...

This past summer’s heatwaves and wildfires served for many as alarming reminders of climate change. Hotter summers, colder winters, and more hurricanes are amongst the symptoms of a changing global climate[1]. These climatic effects will impact different businesses in different...

This is the second blog post co-authored by MDW Law Partner, Christine Doucet, and MDD Forensic Accountants Partner, Jarrett Reaume, addressing various aspects of COVID-19’s impact on business owners and family law issues.  Their first blog post was “Guideline Income...

Business owners don’t need an economist to tell them how dramatically their profits have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.  For those owners who are separated from their spouse, these poor results are impacting how much “available income” they have...

I hope this will be the final installment in this series, but one never knows. Back in the summer of 2018, I wrote a short piece questioning a sensational Forbes magazine article claiming that Kylie Jenner was worth $1B, based mainly...

A little over a year ago, I wrote a short blog post taking issue with a Forbes magazine article that had concluded that Kylie Jenner's net worth was around $900 million. In light of last week’s news that Coty Inc., a publicly traded cosmetics firm, is...

In my last post, I argued that an investor in Kylie Jenner’s cosmetics company was essentially investing in Ms. Jenner’s personal brand, and that the earnings stream for that brand was of a finite life. The post got me thinking:...

Alternate dispute resolution (ADR) is any procedure that is used in matters that would otherwise be settled in a court of law. Examples of ADR include arbitration, mediation, appraisal, and mini-trial. ADR is a dispute resolution strategy with applications to...

A few weeks ago, Forbes created a social media storm when it proclaimed that Kylie Jenner was poised to become the world’s youngest self-made billionaire. Many thumbs were worn out debating the appropriateness of the term “self-made”, and apparently a GoFundMe page...

Valuing a franchise system, or “franchisor”, is in many ways very similar to the valuation of any other type of business; it is a function of the forecasted levels of cash flows that the business will generate, and the risk...

As a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV), almost every business owner I meet wants to know the answer to this question: “How much is my business worth?” There can be many reasons for asking this question: they may be planning to...

In my previous article, I discussed the critical need for business owners to have their business valued by a professional appraiser. In this article I will discuss the two types of business appraisals that you might want to consider. Calculation...

What's so important about having a valuation of my company? Small business owners spend most of their time IN THEIR business and not ON THEIR business. Further, they view expending money on getting a professional valuation performed as a completely...

The Basics Assets have value if they will give rise to future economic benefits.  For businesses, these future economic benefits take the form of either the expected net income stream or the amount that could be realised in the short...

With the busiest season of the year for retail sales upon us, you are no doubt wondering what to buy for that special someone. If you’re reading this blog – and I have every reason to believe you are –...

In Schwartz Levitsky Feldman LLP v. Werbin, 2015, an action was put forward by Schwartz Levitsky Feldman (SLF) claiming loss of profits due to the departure of Mr. Werbin. The firm contended that they purchased Werbin’s clients when they purchased...

In this post, I touch on a common error I encounter in dealing with a financial analysis of multiple companies owned by the same group or individual. I call this error the “dividend double count”, for reasons that will become...

When a business is destroyed as a result of wrongdoing, there are two commonly used methods by which the plaintiff’s damages may be measured. One method is to appraise the value of the plaintiff’s business at the date of loss;...

Pre-judgment interest is often the last thing litigants ponder. A recent award of $75 million in pre-judgment interest in Eli Lilly v. Apotex, 2014 FC 1254 (“Cefaclor”) may change that. Cefaclor involved the infringement of patents for an antibiotic. Damages...

Business valuation concepts can be critical for the proper quantification of personal injury damages, particularly in the context of self-employed individuals. Business valuators are commonly called upon to assess the fair market value of small, owner-managed businesses. One of the...

Moore v. Getahun 2015 ONCA 55 is a case that has already generated a lot of discussion and navel gazing in both the legal and expert communities, and I hesitated for quite a while before deciding that I had anything worthwhile to...

I was looking through my oldest daughter’s baby book last night and found that we had noted the price of gas at $0.70 per litre; I had noted at the time that this was “really high”! This got me thinking...

Towards the end of its decision in Dunkin’ Brands Canada Ltd. c. Bertico inc.2015 QCCA 624, the Quebec Court of Appeal discussed the issue of whether an award for both a) lost profits up to 2005 and b) loss of business...

During the course of matrimonial disputes, there are often situations where solicitors find it helpful to engage specialist investigators and appraisers. In particular, forensic accountants can help to provide the court with a clearer view of the true financial position...

It is becoming increasingly important for attorneys to understand financial statements and their relevance to various types of business and legal situations. The non-accountant attorney will greatly benefit from a basic understanding of the key principles of accounting. Equally important...

Plaintiff and Defense attorneys are guilty! Guilty of waiting until the last minute to address areas of damages. MDD is very often retained in litigation engagements when the measurement of damages takes a back seat to liability and causation. Although...

For many years, attorneys on both sides of the courtroom have turned to forensic experts to support their position as well as to identify the potential strengths and weaknesses in the arguments of opposing counsel.  Additionally, attorneys can use expert...

Business valuations in one form or another have been around for decades. As a result of the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, the Internal Revenue Service began issuing memorandums and directives relating to methods for determining values and...