Forensic and Valuation Services Conference (E2309010)

Neil Beaton is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal Valuation Services practice in Seattle. Mr. Beaton specializes in the valuation of public and privately held businesses and intangible assets for purposes of litigation support (marriage dissolutions, lost profits claims and others), acquisitions, sales, buy-sell agreements, ESOPs, incentive stock options, and estate planning and taxation. He also performs economic analysis for personal injury claims, wrongful termination and wrongful death actions.

Although he has a broad range of experience, Mr. Beaton has particular expertise in the valuation of early-stage, venture-backed companies and has written and spoken extensively on valuation techniques for companies with complex capital structures. He has valued companies in most major industry groups including manufacturing, fishing, utilities, telecommunications, healthcare, wholesale, retail and service industries both domestically and internationally. Mr. Beaton has also testified on valuation issues in federal and state venues across the United States, as well as in international arbitrations.

Mr. Beaton has valued patents, trademarks, trade secrets, IFQs and a plethora of other intangible assets. He is regularly hired to perform purchase price allocations and valuations for the granting of stock options. Mr. Beaton also performs valuations for employee-owned companies, as well as municipal, state and federal entities. He has served as a neutral appraiser in numerous disputes and has served as a special master in a number of venues.

Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Beaton was a Partner with Grant Thornton LLP for over nine years. He joined Grant Thornton from a Seattle-based boutique business valuation and litigation consulting firm, where he worked for 14 years, ultimately as a Partner. Mr. Beaton began his consulting career at Dun & Bradstreet Corporation.

Mr. Beaton earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Stanford University and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from National University. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA). Additionally, he is Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF), and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the CFA Institute and the American Society of Appraisers.

Mr. Beaton is the Co-Chair of the AICPA’s Valuation of Private Equity Securities Task Force and a member of the AICPA’s Mergers & Acquisitions Disputes Task Force. He is also a member of the Business Valuation Update Editorial Advisory Board, on the Board of Experts, Financial Valuation and Litigation Expert and is on the editorial board of the Valuation Examiner, a trade magazine of the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.

Kristopher A. Boushie has more than 35 years of experience in financial and litigation consulting, with an emphasis on forensic valuation issues. He has worked with clients and counsel on hundreds of matters involving patent, trade secret, and Lanham Act damage assessments; strategic IP analyses; IP licensing negotiations; and patent royalty auditing. Mr. Boushie has testified in arbitration hearings, state courts, US district courts, and before the European Commission.

Asif Charania CPA/ABV, ASA, is a manager in the Valuation and Forensic Services Group for Keiter in Richmond, Va. He specializes in valuation and forensic accounting including financial investigations and litigation consulting. He has served clients in a variety of industries including technology, financial, construction, health care, retail trade, manufacturing, distribution, wholesale, government contracting and professional services.

For over thirty years, Martin Cunniff has been involved in all types of high-stakes litigation. This experience includes “on his feet” courtroom experience in dozens of trials, arbitrations and regulatory hearings. His varied litigation experience allows him to handle complex legal and economic analysis and his courtroom experience helps him present those arguments in a persuasive and understandable manner.

Mark C. Dietrich, CPA, ABV, M.B.A., M.S.T., is a nationally recognized expert on health care matters. He served a term on the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Healthcare Expert Panel, is a past member of the AICPA National Healthcare Industry Conference Committee, and has authored and co-authored five books, including PPC's Guide to Healthcare Consulting (specifically, the managed care chapter) and one co-published by the American Health Lawyers Association. He is one of a small number of CPAs with frontline experience negotiating with health insurance companies and formal training in Medicare managed care. Mr. Dietrich has also lectured in the United Kingdom on managed care and was invited back again in the spring of 2011 as that nation reforms its health care system as well.

James R. Hitchner, CPA/ABV/CFF, ASA, is managing director of Financial Valuation Advisors, president of The Financial Consulting Group and CEO of Valuation Products & Services. Additionally, he serves as the editor-in-chief of Financial Valuation and Litigation Expert journal. Mr. Hitchner has coauthored more than 20 courses, taught more than 60 courses, published more than 80 articles, and has made more than 180 conference/seminar presentations. He is also an inductee in the AICPA Business Valuation Hall of Fame, and was one of only four members of the initial AICPA Business Valuation Standards Writing Task Force.

Harold Martin Jr., CPA/ABV/CFF, ASA, CFE, is the partner-in-charge of Keiter's Valuation and Forensic Services Group in Richmond, Va., and a member of the firm's Executive Committee. He has over 40 years of experience in valuation, forensic and public accounting, and financial services. He has performed over 1,600 valuation and forensic projects in over 220 industries. Harold has qualified as an expert witness before U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court and 19 circuit courts in four states, as well as the American Arbitration Association and National Association of Securities Dealers. He has been named as an expert in disputes subject to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. He has been appointed by U.S. District Court as a forensic accountant on cases in which he collaborated with the SEC and the FBI. He has been appointed by the U.S. Office of the Federal Public Defender as a consultant on fraud cases. He has also been retained by the U.S. Department of Justice as a consultant in a litigation in U.S. District Court. He has presented testimony at trial, arbitration and deposition over 80 times. He has been appointed by various circuit courts as a neutral forensic accountant and appraiser.

Greg Saunders, CPA/ABV, ASA, is a manager in Keiter's Valuation and Forensic Services Group. He has five years of experience in financial consulting services. He specializes in valuation and forensic accounting, including financial investigations and litigation consulting services. His valuation experience includes buy/sell agreements; ESOPs; fairness opinions; financial statement reporting (purchase price allocation and goodwill impairment); mergers and acquisitions; purchase/sale of a security; stock-based compensation; taxation (estate, gift and income tax); stockholder disputes; divorce; and complex securities (e.g., preferred stock, convertible preferred stock, options, warrants and stock appreciation rights).

Ron is Managing Partner of Seigneur Gustafson LLP, based in Lakewood Colorado, where he is responsible for financial forensics, economic damages assessments, business and intellectual property valuation, exit planning and related litigation support services. He is co-author of Financial Valuations: Applications and Models, published by John Wiley & Sons and Reasonable Compensation: Applications and Analysis for Management, Valuation and Tax, published by Business Valuation Resources. Ron is also the editor of the just released Law Firm Valuation Guide by BVR.

He has been an adjunct professor at the University of Denver, Strum College of Law for over 25 years, where he teaches law firm finance, leadership and management classes and is also an adjunct at the Daniels College of Business where he teaches a graduate business appraisal course. Ron has a BA from Michigan State University and an MBA from the University of Michigan. He is a fellow of the College of Law Practice Management, an ABV Hall of Fame inductee, a charter member of the AAML Forensic and Valuation Services Division, a member of the Downtown Denver Partnership Distinguished Clown Brigade, and a frequent speaker and author on valuation, economic damages, leadership, cannabis industry matters and other professional firm practice management topics. Ron is currently writing a children’s book on the Sayings of our Elders with his daughter, Chelsea.

Gary R. Trugman, CPA/ABV, MCBA, ASA, MVS Trugman Valuation Associates, Inc. / Plantation, FL Gary is a principal of Trugman Valuation Associates, Inc. He is an accredited in business valuation by the AICPA, a Master Certified Business Appraiser by the Institute of Business Appraisers and an Accredited Senior Appraiser by The American Society of Appraisers. He received a Masters Degree in Valuation Sciences from Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri. Gary has authored a text entitled Understanding Business Valuation: A Practical Guide to Valuing Small and Medium Sized Businesses and an e-book entitled Essentials of Valuing a Closely Held Business, both published by the AICPA. Gary is on the ABV Examinations Committee and is the author of several CPE courses, including ones for the AICPA. He is on the faculty at the National Judicial College and is involved in numerous committees for a variety of professional organizations. 10-2009 LH