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Perspectives

Explore Perspectives, our quarterly thought leadership publication.

Perspectives

Perspectives is a quarterly digital publication that covers an array of topics, including valuation, taxation, litigation, transactions, financing, bankruptcy, and strategic planning. Like its award-winning predecessor, Insights, each edition of Perspectives is authored by Willamette Management Associates analysts, with occasional contributions from prominent attorneys and other professionals. Perspectives offers insights and analyses from our analysts to help readers stay informed on complex issues in the areas of valuation, forensic analysis, and financial advisory services.

October 2025

Editor for this issue: Gregory D. Smith

The U.S. Capitol building
Perspectives

Business Valuation Implications of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Gregory D. Smith

This past July, after hotly contested debates in the House of Representatives and Senate, legislation known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (“OBBBA”) was signed into law. Perceived pros and cons of the OBBBA aside, the new legislation contains many aspects that valuation professionals will have to consider when performing appraisals.

Contemplative man looking at a tablet computer, suggesting checking the return on his investment
Perspectives

Illiquid for Longer: Private Equity Funds and Financial Opinions

Nathan C. Hoelscher

Market conditions have created an environment that is not conducive to optimal exits of portfolio companies. This new era of “illiquid for longer” has prompted sponsors to pursue alternative pathways to liquidity, but with a temporary solution for liquidity comes new litigation risks. These risks can be mitigated by a financial opinion from an independent valuation expert.

A set of football goalposts, suggesting that some valuations require a range of values
Perspectives

Was the Jury Reasonably Certain in Huntsman?

Brent A. McDade

The case of Huntsman International v. Praxair suggests a limitation on the power of juries to draw their own conclusions from the evidence presented in trial. As a result, valuation professionals face a dilemma when calculating compensatory damages. At what point does reasonable certainty in an opinion become unreasonable?

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Previous Issues

U.S. flag flying in front of a courthouse, suggesting a landmark legal decision
Perspectives

July 2025 Perspectives

Editor for the issue: Jackson L. Crispin

  • Tax Court Allows Tax-Affecting for the Discounted Cash Flow Method in Pierce v. Commissioner
  • Conflict Transactions and the Evolution of the Fairness Opinion Landscape
  • The Application of the Relief from Royalty Method for Intellectual Property Valuation
Business meeting in modern office with a man presenting to three seated colleagues, to symbolize prerogatives of control
Perspectives

April 2025 Perspectives

Editors for the issue: Timothy J. Meinhart and Nathan P. Novak

  • Nuances with Respect to Valuing a Controlling Ownership Interest
  • Proposed Regulation Changes to Circular 230
  • Estate Planning and Buy-Sell Agreements After the Connelly Decision
Robot with chart behind, to symbolize artificial intelligence in valuation
Perspectives

January 2025 Perspectives

Editor for this issue: Scott R. Miller

  • The Potential Application of Artificial Intelligence in Business Valuation
  • Providing support and Rationale for the Estimation of Company-Specific Risk Premium
  • Comparison of the Business Valuation Development Standards Among Organizations
Professionals working with financial documents, using a calculator and laptop, to symbolize tax and carried interest
Perspectives

October 2024 Perspectives

Editor for this issue: Jesse J. Gillett

  • Key Considerations in the Valuation of Carried Interest from a Tax Perspective
  • Digging in the Dirt: Performing Forensic Analysis of Financial Records for Valuation Purposes
  • Jointly Retained Valuation Engagements: A Road Map for Trust and Cooperation
Man analyzing multiple monitors with stock charts and market data in a dark office, to symbolize cryptocurrency valuation
Perspectives

July 2024 Perspectives

Editor for this issue: Brent A. McDade

  • Speculative, Viral, and Volatile: Valuation Considerations for Cryptocurrency Assets
  • Company Stock Repurchases at Fair Market Value May Deliver Value Accretion for Remaining Shareholders
  • Qualified Appraisals and Charitable Contribution Deductions: The Lessons of Hoensheid
Two individuals in business attire engage in a tug-of-war, to symbolize a 50 percent interest
Perspectives

April 2024 Perspectives

Editors for this issue: Nathan P. Novak and Timothy J. Meinhart

  • Control Considerations in the Valuation of a 50 percent Ownership Interest
  • The Expatriation Tax: How to Present Assets to the IRS When You Say Goodbye to the United States
  • The Valuation of Controlling Ownership Interests in the Context of Gift Tax Planning
Hands typing on a laptop with digital tax-related icons floating above the keyboard, to symbolize estate tax planning
Perspectives

January 2024 Perspectives

Editors for this issue: Justin M. Nielsen and Lisa H. Tran

  • The Applicability of Discounts for Lack of Marketability on Controlling Ownership Interests
  • Higher Interest Rates and Tax Exemptions May Maximize Benefits in Gift and Estate Tax Planning
  • Key Person Considerations When Valuing Private Companies in a Gift and Estate Tax Context
Green and blue financial charts on digital screen with data points, to symbolize preferred equity and rising interest rates
Perspectives

October 2023 Perspectives

Editor for this issue: Weston C. Kirk

  • Preferred Equity in a Rising Interest Rate Environment
  • Considerations for Valuing the Stadium Seat Licenses of Sports Teams for Estate Tax Purposes
  • Convertible Bonds as a Component of a Company’s Capital Structure
Lawyer signing legal documents at a desk with a gavel and justice scales, to symbolize a case about noncontrolling interests
Perspectives

July 2023 Perspectives

Editor for this issue: Timothy J. Meinhart

  • Understanding the Implications of Cecil v. Commissioner
  • How to Properly Use Asset Transactions in the Guideline Merged and Acquired Company Method
  • Getting the Most out of Every Engagement
Five business professionals meeting around a table, discussing documents and working on laptops, to symbolize perspectives
Perspectives

April 2023 Perspectives

Editors for this issue: Charles A. Wilhoite and Scott R. Miller

  • Incorporating ESG Performance in Equity Valuations
  • Key Considerations Regarding the Valuation of “Small” Businesses
  • The Tax Benefits and Challenges of Allocating Total Business Goodwill to Personal Goodwill in a Transaction
Collage of Willamette Insights cover pages

Insights

Explore Insights, our award-winning print publication that provided valuable thought leadership for over three decades.