Financial Accounts and Business Valuations for Lawyers – recorded lunchtime online conference

ration: Approximately 2.5 Hours

Hear from the experts at this online conference. You can watch it on your computer or on your portable electronic device from anywhere.

The conference will be based on our highly successful video webinar technology: there'll be a chairperson and presentations.

One registration can be shared by colleagues within the same firm utilising the same login.

THE PROGRAM

Session 1: Understanding Financial Accounts

Some lawyers are brilliant at navigating financial statements, others less so. However, regardless of the area of law you practice in, it’s crucial that you have a sound understanding of financial accounts. In this session you will gain an understanding of core financial statements, their content and how to interpret and analyse them:

• The fundamental principles of double entry accounting
• Understanding the accounting relationships between income and liabilities and expenses and assets
• Understanding and reading a profit and loss/income and expenditure statement
• Understanding and reading a balance sheet/statement of financial position
• Key balance sheet ratios to measure company health
• Identifying balance sheet weaknesses - goodwill, capitalised expenditure, IP rights etc.
• Understanding a cash flow statement and the relationship between profit and cash - a review of common non-cash items

Session 2: Financial Accounts: Hot Spots and Red Flags in Practice

It’s one thing to understand the theory behind financial accounts, it’s quite another to understand what may be a red flag or warning sign. This session builds upon the knowledge gained in session one and examines how to spot signs of distress or fraud in financial accounts. Through the use of a practical case study, it covers:

• Reviewing reports to identify financial health and looking for balance sheet weakness:
  • Non-arm’s length loans
  • Overvalued intellectual property
  • Inappropriately capitalised expenses
  • Goodwill in acquisition costs
• Pointers that indicate risk of insolvency or potential distress
  • Capital structure risk
  • Liquidity risk
  • Cash flow management

Session 3: Making Dollars and Sense out of Business Valuations

Whether advising a party in property proceedings in the Family Court, or navigating the sale or purchase of a business, business valuations can be an important consideration in a lawyer’s practice. However, business valuations are tricky, and mistakes can be costly. This session examines the key valuation issues involved with businesses and business entities and covers:

• Identifying relevant interests – distinguishing the business value from the value of the entity conducting the business; consideration of types of ownership interest – shares, units, partnership interests, contingent interests as beneficiaries.
• When should you obtain a third party valuation?
• Meaning of “value” – ‘market value’ vs ‘value to the owner’
• Understanding various valuation methodologies and terminology – asset based approaches v earnings based approaches
• Considering less than 100% interests – discounts for lack of control and marketability
• Inalienable personal goodwill