Virtual Testimony--- How to Testify in Today's Courtroom

Nov 10, 2021 8:40am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 9:55am

Identification: FVC2147

The virtual courtroom is here to stay.  Even the most experienced witness has to adopt to testifying over Zoom, Skype, Team and the other virtual platforms, just as theatre actors had to adopt to 'talkies', the big and small screens, and now podcasts.  As with any other paradigm shift,  you cannot simply package your old wines in new bottles: You need to obtain a whole different set of skills to the new medium, because, as Marshall McLuhan so aptly put it, "the medium is the message".   This session introduces you to the skills you need to learn to captivate your forensic audience in the virtual courtroom.

Learning Objectives:
  • to understand how the virtual courtroom has changed the nature of testimony
  • to understand how you have to change the way you testify in this new environment

Can Lost Profits Exceed the Value of the Business?

Nov 10, 2021 8:40am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 9:55am

Identification: FVC2144

Economic loss to a business plaintiff may be assessed as either lost profits or lost business value.  This session will explore the similarities and differences between the two approaches, and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Learning Objectives:
  • Understand the similarities and differences between lost profits and business valuation.
  • Reconcile lost profits to lost business value.
  • Understand whether lost profits can exceed the value of the business.

Valuing Digital Assets / Cryptocurrencies

Nov 10, 2021 8:40am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 9:55am

Identification: FVC2145

Digital Assets, which include Cryptocurrencies, are increasingly becoming a focus of speculation and investment. Digital Asset acceptance and use is progressing at an accelerated pace. Regulators are seeking to keep up with changes in the Digital Asset landscape while not stifling innovation. This session will discuss macro considerations with respect to defining and valuing Digital Assets for various purposes, primarily financial reporting.

Learning Objectives:
  • Understand the definition of Digital Assets and the applicable valuation framework based on the basis of value.
  • Discuss valuation techniques for specific Digital Asset types.
  • Understand interaction between basis value and basis of reporting for Digital Assets.

Pandemic Fueled Prosecutions: The Rise of White Collar Criminal and Regulatory Enforcement on Main Street USA

Nov 10, 2021 8:40am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 9:55am

Identification: FVC2146

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Congress authorized the largest stimulus relief package in U.S. history, offering hundreds of billions of dollars to businesses suffering economic hardships through a variety of initiatives including the Paycheck Protection Program, Economic Injury Disaster Loan Program, Provider Relief Fund, Restaurant Revitalization Fund, Shuttered Venue Operators Grant Program, and the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program. Federal investigators and prosecutors have mobilized quickly to combat fraud in connection with these programs and to ensure that relief funds were disbursed, and spent, properly. This session will explore the fast-moving landscape of pandemic-fueled investigations and prosecutions, with a focus on the early criminal prosecutions, anticipated enforcement trends, and identifying areas of risk for recipients of federal aid. The panel will also address the increasing use of civil penalty statutes such as the False Claims Act and FIRREA, and the key role of whistleblowers in rooting out possible fraud. In the face of this unprecedented wave of federal scrutiny of businesses receiving COVID-19 relief, the opportunities for white-collar criminal defense lawyers and forensic accountants are greater than at any point in recent history.

Learning Objectives:
  • 1. Explore the various areas ripe for criminal and regulatory inquiry after the multiple economic stimulus packages passed by Congress in response to the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • 2. Explore the demographic of an investigative target for pandemic related fraud looks like, and why it is dramatically different this time around;
  • 3. Understand civil liability under the FCA and FIRREA statutes and the significant role that whistleblowers and qui tam litigation will play;
  • 4. Highlight the greater than ever synergies between forensic accountants and white collar defense lawyers in the wake of the pandemic; and
  • 5. Predict future trends as the United States experiences what may be the largest criminal and regulatory investigation in the nation’s history.

Marketability Discounts - Current Trends and Techniques

Nov 10, 2021 10:10am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 11:25am

Identification: FVC2149

This session will examine the current state of affairs in the world of marketability discounts.  We will survey the most commonly used techniques, trends in recent court decisions, and analyze the characteristics of a subject interest that influence the magnitude of the marketability discount.

Learning Objectives:
  • Compare common techniques for estimating marketability discounts.
  • Examine recent court decisions that discuss the discount for lack of marketability.
  • Assess the characteristics that influence the magnitude of the marketability discount for business ownership interests.
  • Evaluate the interaction of the S election and marketability discounts.

Lease Valuation Issues in Business Combination and Impairment Testing

Nov 10, 2021 10:10am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 11:25am

Identification: FVC2150

During this panel discussion, the presenters (who include representatives from the AICPA Business Combinations task force, which is developing an Accounting and Valuation Guide on this topic, and a tangible asset valuation expert) will discuss frequently identified issues that arise from FASB ASC 842, Leases, which dramatically changed accounting for leases. In this session, we’ll address a variety of issues including the impact of the new leasing guidance on: • Market and income approaches for purposes of business valuation • Business combinations, including IRR and asset valuation (such as right-of-use assets) • Impairment testing under FASB ASC 360, including the valuation of right-of-use assets

Learning Objectives:
  • Market and income approaches for purposes of business valuation
  • Business combinations, including IRR and asset valuation (such as right-of-use assets)
  • Impairment testing under FASB ASC 360, including the valuation of right-of-use assets

Government Benefits Related Fraud

Nov 10, 2021 10:10am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 11:25am

Identification: FVC2151

As the global coronavirus pandemic enters its second year, state and local government agencies remain at the forefront of distributing emergency aid to individuals who have lost their jobs, are going hungry, and may be facing eviction or foreclosure. Unfortunately, with billions of dollars approved for COVID-19 relief aid, fraudsters and scammers have a huge opportunity to divert that money from the people who need it and make themselves rich. Given the urgent demand for relief, governments can focus on deployment rather than controls which creates many opportunities for fraud. The types of Fraudsters in this area can include government staff responsible for distributing funds, citizens / companies who falsify applications to obtain funds they are not entitled to, those who engage in identity theft to apply for funds on behalf of others etc. In this session, we will review the most prevalent types government benefits related frauds that have occurred during the COVID 19 pandemic and the prevention tactics that can be implemented to reduce these fraud types in the future.

Learning Objectives:
  • Review and understand the most typical fraud practices used to access government relief funds related to COVID 19 in Canada and the United States.
  • Understand certain prevention tactics that can implemented by governments to reduce or eliminate fraud.
  • The role of the forensic accountants in both detecting and preventing fraud perpetrated to access government relief funds.

Complex Support and Property Division Dissolution Issues: Considerations of Alternative Asset Management, Equity and Deferred Compensation

Nov 10, 2021 10:10am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 11:25am

Identification: FVC2152

  • Carried Interest
  • Performance Fees
  • Reasonable Compensation
  • Restricted Stock Units
  • Stock Options
Learning Objectives:
  • Understand the structure / components of alternative asset management such as hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, etc.
  • Learn how various types of compensation such as carried interest, performance fees, etc. impact income available for support and property division
  • Discussion of various apportionment methods of equity interest, such as time rule, concurrent and sequential vesting

Valuation Considerations of Distressed Companies and Bankruptcy Considerations

Nov 10, 2021 11:40am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 12:55pm

Identification: FVC2154

From Serta, Caesars Palace, and J-Crew, leading private credit managers have battled it out in the last five years across high-profile restructurings that saw creditors wage war on fellow creditors for companies impacted by asset raids or lien jumping. The new term "creditor vs. creditor violence" focuses on a range of legal and valuation factors facing equity investors and the full range of credit investors.

Learning Objectives:
  • Analyze Distressed Credit Valuation Opportunities and Challenges
  • Cover the Blend of Valuation, Accounting, and Restructuring Fundamentals Impacting Credit Investments

Construction Claims – Damages Calculations and Analysis

Nov 10, 2021 11:40am ‐ Nov 10, 2021 12:55pm

Identification: FVC2155

Construction projects are complex, as are the claims and damage calculations that result when a project isn’t executed as expected. This session will examine typical claims that arise on construction projects and the role of the forensic accountant in quantifying damages. We will also explore other related areas the forensic accountant is able to assist, such as construction defect litigation and construction cost analysis on behalf of the owner.

Learning Objectives:
  • Understand the forensic accountant’s role and the interplay with other experts
  • Understand the various claims and associated damage theories
  • Review of calculations for typical claims, such as: delay, disruption, acceleration, extra costs, etc.
  • Explore damages in the context of construction defect litigation and construction cost audits