Mike Costello Featured in Leading Business Valuation Publication

DECOSIMO ADVISORY SERVICES PRINCIPAL FEATURED IN BV RESOURCES’ BUSINESS VALUATION UPDATE

Decosimo Advisory Services Principal Mike Costello’s recent presentation on Daubert challenges at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ National Business Valuation Conference in San Francisco was featured in a leading business valuation journal. The article, "Survive Any Daubert Challenge with This 13-point Checklist," appeared in the January 2010 edition of Business Valuation Update, the monthly newsletter of Business Valuation Resources. The publication’s readership numbers 2,000 analysts globally. Mike said analysis reliability has been the main cause for testimony exclusion in court cases involving a financial expert’s opinion under the Daubert standard, followed by absence of relevance and of qualifications. The thirteen questions examine an analyst’s educational background, if professional standards were followed, whether the techniques used are accepted in the relevant professional community, as well as underscore the importance of weighing all of the numbers in light of the facts in a case. Mike’s checklist helps colleagues properly prepare for and defend their analysis in court. Daubert v. Merrill Dow Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was a 1993 U.S. Supreme Court case that affirmed the gatekeeping role of judges by giving them authority to determine the reliability and relevance of expert testimony. Mike said, "If you can’t answer any one of the 13 points positively and thoroughly, perhaps you shouldn’t take the case." To read more about Mike’s Daubert challenge survival techniques, click here.