National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA)

A Collision Course in Evidentiary Standards for AI-Assisted Financial Forensics—How a New Proposed Rule of Evidence Seeks to Admit AI Analysis and Supplant Experts https://lnkd.in/gKpcpwWu Readers of the weekly QuickRead® will come to appreciate it as a primary source for current news and information highlights in areas of interest to the financial forensics consultant, and for immediate use in your practice. Specific topics covered include business and intangible asset valuation; litigation consulting and expert witnessing; healthcare consulting; mergers, acquisitions and exit planning; fraud risk management; forensic accounting; estate planning; and other related areas that we believe will be of interest. Click here to subscribe to the Free weekly QuickRead e-mail newsletter: www.nacva.com/email

Demystifying AI—A Beginner’s Roadmap to the Technology Behind ChatGPT https://lnkd.in/g9JYpPBP Readers of the weekly QuickRead® will come to appreciate it as a primary source for current news and information highlights in areas of interest to the financial forensics consultant, and for immediate use in your practice. Specific topics covered include business and intangible asset valuation; litigation consulting and expert witnessing; healthcare consulting; mergers, acquisitions and exit planning; fraud risk management; forensic accounting; estate planning; and other related areas that we believe will be of interest. Click here to subscribe to the Free weekly QuickRead e-mail newsletter: www.nacva.com/email

Unimpeachable Methodological Consistency—The Foundation of Unassailable Authority https://lnkd.in/gdiPgZtS Readers of the weekly QuickRead® will come to appreciate it as a primary source for current news and information highlights in areas of interest to the financial forensics consultant, and for immediate use in your practice. Specific topics covered include business and intangible asset valuation; litigation consulting and expert witnessing; healthcare consulting; mergers, acquisitions and exit planning; fraud risk management; forensic accounting; estate planning; and other related areas that we believe will be of interest. Click here to subscribe to the Free weekly QuickRead e-mail newsletter: www.nacva.com/email

Preparing a Medical or Dental Practice for a Someday Sale—Advice for Medical and Dental Professionals and Their Advisors https://lnkd.in/gp4hQ4Az Readers of the weekly QuickRead® will come to appreciate it as a primary source for current news and information highlights in areas of interest to the financial forensics consultant, and for immediate use in your practice. Specific topics covered include business and intangible asset valuation; litigation consulting and expert witnessing; healthcare consulting; mergers, acquisitions and exit planning; fraud risk management; forensic accounting; estate planning; and other related areas that we believe will be of interest. Click here to subscribe to the Free weekly QuickRead e-mail newsletter: www.nacva.com/email

Assessing reasonable compensation for shareholder employees in closely held companies remains a key concern for shareholders, valuation professionals, and tax advisors. U.S. courts, particularly the Tax Court, have established multiple factors and guidelines to assess reasonableness of compensation. Industry practices and regulations are also factors, while federal and state statutes prohibit certain facts from being considered.

This program will examine the First Brands Group bankruptcy as a real-world case study in off-balance-sheet financing, aggressive factoring practices, and forensic accounting investigation techniques. The course will focus on how factoring arrangements work, how they are properly accounted for, and how misuse or abuse of factoring can materially distort a company’s financial statements and solvency. Participants will learn the mechanics of invoice factoring, including the differences between recourse and non-recourse arrangements, the flow of cash and customer payments, and the typical accounting and internal controls required to prevent duplicate pledging of receivables. The course will explore how factoring can be used legitimately to manage liquidity, but also how it can become a red flag when it is opaque, unusually large, or poorly controlled. Using the reported $2.3 billion gap at First Brands, the course will highlight common forensic warning signs such as double factoring, overstated revenues, understated liabilities, weak segregation of duties, and complex intercompany structures used to obscure the true ownership of receivables. Attendees will discuss how off-balance-sheet financing can mask financial distress and delay recognition of insolvency. The course will also address the role of forensic accountants in bankruptcy and government investigations, including tracing invoices from sale to collection, reconciling factoring proceeds, identifying duplicate or altered invoices, and evaluating whether financial statements fairly presented the company’s condition. The course will conclude with practical lessons for forensic accountants, valuation professionals, and expert witnesses when analyzing solvency, fraud risk, and financial reporting integrity in distressed companies.

The training teaches to the Core Body of Knowledge for the Master Analyst in Financial Forensics® (MAFF®) designation. The highest growth areas of financial litigation are subject to their own variables that define the consultant’s role in the matter and the scope of analysis. Further, the legal theories underlying the various types of financial litigation focus on key statutes and case law that define the scope of damages.   Taught by some of the nation’s top minds and authorities in law, economics, valuation theory, expert witnessing, and litigation support, the training expounds on the legal foundations and the strategic and communication skills required of a forensic expert, and how to apply these skills in a litigation context.   Command of these fundamental concepts is key to providing services that will withstand the challenges of the litigation environment.

Digital evidence is no longer a supporting detail; it is often the centerpiece in financial litigation. Whether it is proving fraud, tracing embezzled funds, establishing ownership, or uncovering policy violations, digital forensics plays a critical role in modern legal disputes. This course equips participants with a detailed understanding of how to gather, preserve, analyze, and present digital evidence in a legally defensible way. It walks attendees through the full lifecycle of a forensic investigation using the Deliverables framework. From the initial imaging of devices using tools like Logicube Falcon or Cellebrite to processing and analysis using platforms such as Autopsy or Magnet Axiom, every step is covered with precision and clarity. The course highlights how metadata, deleted files, hidden data, and even contextual inconsistencies can shape a case, and how to connect those findings to damages, misappropriation, or statutory violations. Participants will also learn how to avoid critical legal and ethical pitfalls. Key topics include: proper consent and authority before initiating an investigation, maintaining chain of custody and process logs, understanding state-specific PI licensing laws, and navigating privacy rights. The course draws on real-world litigation scenarios—from business e-mail compromise to trade secret theft—to illustrate how forensic findings integrate with expert witness reporting and damage calculations. Additionally, the course addresses the glaring lack of formal standards in the U.S. digital forensics industry and offers guidance based on ISO 17025 to help professionals enhance credibility, impartiality, and procedural rigor in their engagements. This course will prepare you to handle digital evidence with confidence, compliance, and clarity. This is part of Cybersecurity: Analysis, Risks, and Actions course. 

Cyberattacks are no longer hypothetical; they are inevitable. But in the aftermath of a breach, determining the true economic impact can be challenging, especially when statutory violations and legal liabilities come into play. This course offers a comprehensive and practical approach for financial professionals who must calculate damages, support litigation, or deliver expert opinions in the wake of digital misconduct. In this course, participants will be guided through a structured investigative and valuation process that begins with identifying the breach and culminates in defensible expert reporting. Using high-profile real-world examples—such as Uber, Capital One, Twitter, Ticketmaster, and CrowdStrike—you will be shown how breaches often stem from misconfigured systems, insider threats, or third-party failures, and how these failures translate into real losses, ranging from direct financial theft and business interruption to regulatory fines, reputational harm, and litigation risk. This course emphasizes the importance of understanding statutory implications under frameworks such as the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, HIPAA, GDPR, FinCEN, and deceptive trade practice laws. Participants learn how to evaluate whether the breached organization met its obligations, how that impacts liability, and how to model those consequences financially. With a sharp focus on statutory damage claims, long-tail liabilities, and forensic clarity, this course equips attendees with the tools to go beyond surface-level numbers and deliver in-depth, risk-adjusted valuations that withstand scrutiny in court, regulatory hearings, or settlement negotiations. This is part of Cybersecurity: Analysis, Risks, and Actions course. 

This course will detail cybersecurity frameworks with a specific focus on NIST and will identify engagements available to the financial practitioner related to cybersecurity policy and process. This is part of Cybersecurity: Analysis, Risks, and Actions course.