Rob Snowden Discusses Value-add of Valuation

Charlotte, NC: South Park Advisors is pleased to announce that Rob Snowden, founding partner, and business valuation expert, will participate in a panel discussion on “The Value-add of Valuation Services in Exit Planning” on January 18, 2023.

The event is presented by the Charlotte chapter of the Exit Planning Exchange (XPX), a multi-disciplinary community of professional advisors who work collaboratively to help owners build stronger businesses and prepare for and execute successful business transitions.

Rob Snowden is the founder of South Park Advisors, an independent business valuation firm that caters to business owners, attorneys, accountants, commercial bankers, trust departments, insurance agents, and financial planners. He has more than 25 years of experience providing valuation and advisory services to companies across multiple industries. Although Rob works with all areas of the business, he specializes in ownership transition and advisory, estate and gift tax reporting, litigation support, dispute resolution, ESOPs, charitable foundation reporting, and lending purposes.

 

About South Park Advisors: South Park Advisors is an independent business valuation firm that caters primarily to meeting the needs of private, closely-held businesses. With offices in Charlotte, NC, Rochester, NY, and Phoenix, AZ, the company focuses on serving owners of middle-market companies with sales of up to $500MM.

 

www.southparkval.com

by Robert Snowden

Rob Hilton to Speak at The ESOP Association’s Multi-State Conference

South Park Advisors is pleased to announce that Rob Hilton, managing director, and ESOP expert, will speak at The ESOP Association’s Multi-State Conference at Hershey Lodge, Hershey PA, September 12-14, 2022. During his session on The Basics of ESOP Valuation, Rob will address the fundamentals of the ESOP valuation timeline and process, explore the framework for the valuation of an operating company, and provide tips on how to choose an ESOP valuation advisor. Additionally, attendees will learn about valuation approaches, procedures, and special ESOP-related valuation issues.

The ESOP Association notes, “Business Valuation is an essential aspect of new ESOP formations and ongoing annual administrative updates. Valuation professionals assist ESOP professional advisors and companies in understanding the latest trends, issues, laws, and regulations related to properly determining an ESOP’s share value.”

Rob notes, “I am honored to join this conference with my colleagues and leaders from the ESOP community. The ESOP Association continues to provide relevant and insightful information to individuals wanting to learn more about ESOPs.”

Rob Hilton, managing director, co-owner of South Park Advisors, and ESOP expert, has more than 20 years of experience providing valuation services to private and public companies ranging in size from less than $1 million to $1 billion in sales. Rob is Vice President of Programming for the New York/New Jersey Chapter of the ESOP Association. Rob is a regular speaker at national and regional ESOP conferences. He also frequently speaks on exit planning at various local, regional, and national events.

by Robert Snowden

Bryan King Joins South Park Advisors

South Park Advisors, an independent business valuation firm with offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Rochester, New York is pleased to announce the addition of Bryan King as Managing Director of the firm. He brings a wealth of experience and diversity to us which will further enhance our knowledge base and service capabilities in the Carolinas and beyond.

Before joining South Park, Bryan was involved in the development of First Union National Bank's third-party business valuation practice, he was a founding member of Enterprise Value Consulting, LLC, a Charlotte-based business valuation firm, and most recently, employed as a Senior Manager in the Litigation Support and Valuation Group at GreerWalker LLP.

"I am excited to join as the latest addition to the South Park Advisors team. The firm's thoughtfulness, attention to detail and professionalism is a winning combination in the marketplace. By maintaining a focus on serving the needs of its clients, South Park believes that it benefits in more ways than just profits.”  says King.

Bryan is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) of the American Society of Appraisers and holds the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) as a non-CPA finance professional.

For more information, please visit www.southparkval.com or reach out to Bryan King at 704.817.2818.

At South Park Advisors, we believe there is no one-size-fits all approach to valuation, and every process is uniquely based on each business, sector and industry. We’ll approach your valuation with confidence, competency and industry-specific knowledge to ensure a credible and well-reasoned outcome.

by Robert Snowden

Rob Hilton Joins South Park Advisors

South Park Advisors, an independent business valuation firm with offices in Charlotte, North Carolina and Rochester, New York is pleased to announce the addition of Rob Hilton as Managing Director and co-owner of the firm. His substantial expertise in the implementation and administration of ESOPs will extend the firm’s service capabilities to trustees and business owners in both the Northeastern and Southeastern states. Rob frequently speaks at national and regional conferences on ESOPs, valuation, and exit planning.

"I am extremely honored to join the fast-growing South Park.  I believe that we share a common approach of providing excellent customer service and acting with the utmost integrity.”  says Hilton.

Prior to joining South Park, Rob spent 18 years of his career with one of the largest accounting firms and independent business valuation firms in the U.S. In addition to ESOPs, he has prepared hundreds of valuations in connection with estate and gift tax reporting, buy-sell agreements, recapitalizations, mergers and acquisitions, purchase price allocations, financial reporting and general corporate planning across a broad range of industries. Rob also has unique expertise in valuing covenant-not-to-compete and non-solicitation agreements.

Rob is an accredited senior appraiser (ASA) of the American Society of Appraisers and a member of the National Center of Employee Ownership (NCEO). He currently serves as Executive Vice President of the New York/New Jersey Chapter of The ESOP Association.

For more information, please visit www.southparkval.com or reach out to Rob Hilton 585.473.3713 (Rochester) or Robert Snowden (Charlotte) 704.817.1584.

At South Park Advisors, we believe there is no one-size-fits all approach to valuation, and every process is uniquely based on each business, sector and industry. We’ll approach your valuation with confidence, competency and industry-specific knowledge to ensure a credible and well-reasoned outcome.

by Robert Snowden

Section 2704 Proposed Valuation Regs. Identified by IRS As Overly Burdensome or Unduly Complex

It may come as no surprise to estate planners that the IRS has indicated that the §2704 proposed regulations are under review as overly burdensome and/or unduly complex. As explained in IRS Notice 2017-38, President Trump’s April 21, 2017 Executive Order 13789 directed the Treasury Secretary to reduce regulatory burdens by identifying any regulations issued after 2015 that:

1. impose undue financial burdens on taxpayers;

2. add “undue complexity” to federal tax laws;

3. exceed the IRS’s statutory authority.

The IRS’s initial (or interim) report identifying these regulations was due in June 2017. Notice 2017-38 reflects the interim report. Of the 105 post-2015 proposed, temporary, and final regulations the IRS had issued as of the date of the President’s Executive Order, the IRS found eight that it believes satisfy the criteria in either (1) or (2) above. Few in the estate planning community will be surprised to learn that the proposed §2704 valuation discount regulations are included in this group of eight. These regulations have been controversial since their issuance in August 2016, as evidenced by the thousands of comments the IRS received in response to the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (REG-163113-02). As described in Notice 2017-38:

Section 2704(b) of the Internal Revenue Code provides that certain non-commercial restrictions on the ability to dispose of or liquidate family-controlled entities should be disregarded in determining the fair market value of an interest in that entity for estate and gift tax purposes. These proposed regulations would create an additional category of restrictions that also would be disregarded in assessing the fair market value of an interest. Commenters expressed concern that the proposed regulations would eliminate or restrict common discounts, such as minority discounts and discounts for lack of marketability, which would result in increased valuations and transfer tax liability that would increase financial burdens. Commenters were also concerned that the proposed regulations would make valuations more difficult and that the proposed narrowing of existing regulatory exceptions was arbitrary and capricious.

The Notice provides us with an opportunity to weigh in on these regulations once again: The IRS requests comments by August 7, 2017 on whether the regulations should be rescinded or modified, and in the latter case, how they should be modified to reduce burdens and complexity.

Executive Order 13789 gives the IRS a deadline of September 18, 2017 to issue a final report recommending “specific actions to mitigate the burden imposed” by the regulations the IRS identified in Notice 2017-38. Practitioners should stay alert for further developments as it seems very doubtful that the proposed regulations will be finalized in their current form (if at all).

From Bloomberg BNA - Jul 8, 2017 / by Kathy Hanson: https://www.bna.com/section-2704-proposed-b73014461360/

by Robert Snowden

Rob Snowden Interviewed by The Value Examiner

In the September/October 2016 issue of The Value Examiner, Rob Snowden of South Park Advisors was interviewed about his experience as a sole practitioner in the business valuation industry. In the article, Rob discusses some of the trials and tribulations he faced during the first year, as well as the importance of establishing trust and competence with clients - "It's about more than just providing a business appraisal."

The complete article can be accessed at the follow link: Rob Snowden Interview.

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South Park Advisors is an independent business valuation firm dedicated to serving the needs of closely held businesses. We believe there’s no one-size-fits all approach to valuation, and every process is uniquely based on each business, sector and industry. We’ll approach your appraisal with confidence, competency, and industry-specific knowledge to ensure a credible and well-reasoned outcome.


by Robert Snowden