Ron Lint is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) and has been a valuator for 35 years and uses and loves ValuSource valuation software. Ron valuation practice includes general valuation, litigation, gift & estate, mergers and acquisitions, divorce, ESOP’s, general financial consulting and assisting clients obtain bank loans.
Ron began his career in the valuation world in 1986 when he joined a premier tax consultancy in Texas. Five-years later he was certified as an ASA and started his own practice, ATI Capital Group of Colorado, LLC.
Before discovering ValuSource, Ron used his own spreadsheets and at one point even tried to build his own valuation software. Once he discovered ValuSource, he realized there was just no comparison to what he was using and switched and has never looked back since. Seventeen years later, ValuSource valuation software is one of his most important work tools.
The Benefits of Using ValuSource Software as an Expert Witnesses
As a well-respected expert witness, Ron has extensive courtroom experience having successfully represented both the IRS and taxpayers in the United States Tax Court, 10th District involving valuation matters, including testifying as an expert witness in the landmark Estate of Albert Strangi case.
The process of preparing for court goes a step beyond than just performing the valuation, which in Ron’s case, are typically 150+ pages. Ron needs to be able to easily find pertinent facts and be able to respond to any questions the opposing attorney or judge asks.
“During questioning, it’s impossible to thumb through a 150-page valuation to find the relevant section,” says Lint. “After years of court testimony, I know exactly what the court requires and can prepare accordingly. ValuSource software makes it easy to print the sections I need. And if the judge allows, I bring my laptop and use a screen for visual testimony. This is highly effective making complex valuations much easier to explain.”
Striving for Values that are Reasonable, Sensible and Defensible
For Ron, another unique feature of ValuSource software is the sanity check. “Before using ValuSource software, I had never seen this before and it makes all the sense in the world,” says Ron. “On the most basic level, the burning question is can the company afford to pay for itself at the valuation value that I just arrived at,” says Ron. “Because if a company can’t pay for itself in a reasonable period of time at a reasonable interest rate, then it makes no sense to buy it.”
If the sanity check shows the business cannot pay for itself, then Ron goes back and looks at things such as company’s specific risk, cap rates, valuation methodologies and market comparables, to come up with a reasonable, sensible and defensible value. Valuators who do not use a sanity check like approach can arrive at a value which may not defensible or reasonable in the real world.
ValuSource helps Detect Anomalies and Problem Areas
The step-by-step process and comprehensive functionality of ValuSource software helps Ron to be more analytical and identify problems within the business and find ways to fix them. “ValuSource software enables me to see where I need to adjust the financial statements,” says Ron. “The normalizations of the financial statements and being able to fully explain my thinking is vital because the IRS will scrutinize it. I have to be able to defend my valuation with facts and reason, this is what makes ValuSource software such an important tool.”
According to Ron, at least three quarters of cases have anomalies and using ValuSource software’s analytical tools enable Ron to find these anomalies and address them. “For example, salaries are 25% generally and then this year they’re 40%, or the cost of goods is increasing faster than revenue,” says Ron. “This is information is invaluable to any business owner and is not something many business owners look at or even have access to until I do a valuation for them.”
Using ValuSource software, Ron can look more deeply to find anomalies and determine how they impact both value and risk. In consulting engagements with business owners, he can take these types of findings to management so they can work together to get to the bottom of the problem and find solutions.
ValuSource Software for Bank Loans? Yes!
Ron also uses ValuSource software to prepare bank presentations for large loans when he is engaged by clients that either need working capital or are doing an acquisition. The software helps Ron to put together the exhibits he needs to create a loan request package for the bank. Ron is also able to identify weakness and problem areas which the bank might flag. This is extremely beneficial as these problems could jeopardize securing the loan. With this information, Ron can work with his client to mitigate these issues and be better prepared for bank scrutiny.
Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOP)
As a specialist on employee stock ownership plans (ESOP), Ron designs, implements, and offers ESOP consultation services, executive compensation plans and privately owned limited partnerships. Ron also serves as an independent trustee for a number of ESOP’s.
“In an ESOPs scenario, the law requires the business to repurchase all the stock owned by its employees in the event of a death, retirement, becoming disabled or leaving the company after he has vested,” says Ron. The law also requires ESOP’s to be valued each year.
“In the event of a company having to repurchase stock, the first step is to have an actuarial firm run an actuarial study to establish what this means over 20 years,” says Ron. “Then I input the results of the study into my ValuSource valuation software as a projection. This is really a projection of the potential company liability to make sure that the company can fund it. And is required by the department of labor.”
Business valuations in the context of tax litigation, corporate finance and ESOP engagements are extremely complicated, requiring careful preparation following best practices since the stakes are so high. There simply is no room for error when it comes to the IRS, the tax courts and Department of Labor. Using ValuSource software significantly helps Ron navigate the complex valuation process efficiently and minimizing the risk of making errors. Using ValuSource software has helped Ron establish himself as a leader in his field and sought-after expert witness.
Ron is a big ValuSource fan and is still incredibly happy he gave up his own valuation spreadsheets for ValuSource software almost two decades ago.
About Ron Lint
As the CEO of ATI Capital Group of Colorado, LLC and an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA), Ron specializes in corporate business valuations for gift & estate tax purposes, mergers & acquisitions, litigation support, divorce settlements, private business transitions, and corporate financial consulting.
As a specialist on employee stock ownership plans (ESOP), Ron designs, implements and offers consultation services for ESOPs, executive compensation plans, and privately owned limited partnerships. He also serves as an independent trustee for selected ESOP companies and is licensed to teach: CLE for attorneys in Colorado; CPE for certified public accountants nationwide, and CE for insurance professionals in Colorado. Ron also has the privilege of lecturing on advanced ESOP concepts as a visiting instructor at the University of Denver Graduate School of Taxation.
Ron is also an expert grandad who knows his limitations. “My six-year-old granddaughter was sitting on my lap and I disagreed with her about something and she said, Paw Paw, you don’t know everything. So, while I am an expert in my field, I’ve been informed that I don’t know everything.”
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Areas of Expertise
• Litigation including bringing the software to court
• Estate & Gift Tax
• ESOP’s
• Preparing and presenting for bank loans
• Corporate Consulting: Uncovering financial problems in companies outside valuation
ValuSource Software Solution
• ValuSource Pro
Benefits
• Software makes it easy to present the relevant sections of a valuation in court
• Follows industry best practices
• Contains a “Sanity Check”
• Produces a comprehensive report containing all the necessary information to stand up to IRS and court scrutiny
• Follows a logical process, eliminating the chance of errors
ValuSource Data Solutions
• BVDataWorld Titanium Level (21 Data Sources) including:
o ValuSource M&A Comps
o Guideline Public Company
o Mergerstat Review Prices to Earnings Ratios
o RMA
o Kroll Cost of Capital Navigator