One of the lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis is that a coherent narrative is more important than ever in business valuation, says Dr. Aswath Damodaran, of New York University Stern School of Business, who gave the keynote address at the CBV Congress 2021. A valuation needs a marriage of narrative and numbers, Damodaran says. In a good valuation, the numbers are “bound together” by a coherent narrative, and storytelling is kept grounded with numbers. Too much emphasis on numbers can make valuations mere “plug-and-point exercises” that may be perceived to be sales pitches or a confirmation of preconceived values. Read more >>

In BVR’s recent webinar, Power Panel: Live Expert Answers for Today’s Tough BV Questions, experts Jay E. Fishman, Michelle Gallagher, Ken Pia, and Jeffrey Tarbell covered various hot topics that affect the business valuation profession. These questions ranged from the basics, such as “What will 2021 look like?” to “What are your thoughts on the current state of the ESOP litigation environment particularly with the new administration coming in?” Here, we summarize five of the questions and answers. For more information, be sure to check out the complete recording and transcript of the session. Read more >>

The final chapter on the impact of the pandemic on the full-service restaurant sector has yet to be written. In the meantime, thinking continues to evolve on conducting valuations in the current environment. In a new special report, What It’s Worth: Valuing Full-Service Restaurants, BVR covers the fundamentals and unique considerations for restaurant valuation—as well as how to assess the long-term outlook for consumer preferences and financial performance. Based on conversations, webinars, and conference sessions with many valuation experts, here are six pandemic-related issues you should consider. Read more >>