Financial Planning

Like woodworking tools in the hands of a skilled craftsman, the income and market approaches to business valuation are the tools of the trade for the valuation analyst. Similarly, the results that are achieved depend greatly on the manner in which those tools are applied.The focus of this article will be on making the most of the toolbox, particularly with respect to three common threads in both the discounted cash flow method and the guideline public company method: cash flow, growth and the weighted average cost of capital.

FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMAND TOP CONSUMER DOLLARConsumers are willing to pay an average of 5.2 percent more for financial services compared to other industries, according to a retail survey conducted by Kanbay Research Institute. In the poll, financial services topped such other sectors as communications, media content, restaurants and beverages, retail, and travel.

Insurance policies with rising or re-appearing premiums can often cause their owners problems, especially when those owners' financial needs or obligations change.Is it a better investment to continue paying a policy that you have already paid into in hopes of a gain at maturation, or to recoup some of the investment by trading the policy for its cash surrender value? Corporate policyholders often face additional dilemmas when dealing with departing executives with key-man or split-dollar policies, or insurance purchased as part of a buy-sell agreement.

It has been a natural progression for CPAs to gradually evolve their practices to include both tax and financial planning."There's a natural link between tax prep and financial planning," explained Stephen Parezo, media manager for multidisciplinary practice firm Fiducial. "In doing a client's taxes, you get to see their whole financial picture. You can see if they're making contributions to retirement plans, and get to see what kind of stocks and other investments they have."

As many of you have already discerned by now, I spend a goodly piece of time in England, specifically because I work with the development office and president of my graduate college there on a new capital campaign that will affect women’s health issues worldwide.

Baby Boomers are just becoming aware that when they retire and because of greater life expectancies, they will probably need a steady income steam for at least 25 years, maybe for as long as 35 or more.

To finish off the year, I thought it might be very worthwhile, as we get ready for New Year’s Resolutions, to consider certain ideals, courtesy of my friends at Buckingham Asset Management. They have adopted the following principles to help them serve as a trusted advisor. It bears repeating over and over because Buckingham is right on target:

Employers and benefit providers are coming up with some rather interesting ways of providing employee benefits in a cost effective manner.

Derrick Kinney is one of the most charming people on the face of the earth. He is also recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on helping small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed succeed with the affluent. Moreover, he is the author of the bestselling "Master the Media to Attract Your Ideal Clients."

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Board have jointly released rules to implement “broker” exceptions for banks.