Business Valuation and Forensic Accounting

Candon, Todd and Seabolt have written a brief, accessibleintroduction to business valuation and forensic accounting tohelp Hawaii residents involved in settling disputes over the valuesof businesses and business interests. Most often these sorts ofdisputes come about because co-owners of businesses are goingtheir separate ways. It may be because of a pending divorce. Itmay be due to a disagreement among the co-owners. Whateverthe motivation, this book will help the parties and their advisorschart their future course. This primer on business valuation and forensic accounting isdesigned for business owners but may be of interest to others inthe islands of Hawaii and elsewhere. Included is a brief summary of the major business valuationprofessional credentials, the related professional standards anda brief description of the process involved in developing anopinion of the value of a business interest. It also summarizes,from a valuation analysts point of view, the case law that guidesthe valuation of businesses in Hawaii in the context of divorce. Forensic accounting standards, credentials and procedures, aswell as examples of certain fraud schemes, are also includedbecause, in financial disputes, one or more parties sometimessuspect that someone else is hiding the financial ball.