Why you should attend
The ability to identify and appropriately use financial and accounting information is relevant to a wide range of legal and regulatory matters for attorneys and allied professionals. Litigators and transactional attorneys alike will benefit from this practical course designed specifically for non-accountants and taught by members of the nation’s top accounting, tax and advisory firms, leading law firms, in-house counsel and universities.
What you will learn
- Key factors shaping financial reporting
- Foundational finance, accounting and economics terminology and principles
- How to “navigate” and understand the basic financial statements -- the balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows and statement of shareholders’ equity
- Practical corporate finance concepts, including financial ratios and analysis
- The use of valuations in business transactions and fairness opinions, as well as in common claims and defenses in litigation
- Strategies for uncovering fraud in financial statements
Who should attend
External and in-house attorneys and allied professionals who work with financial information whether in the course of litigation or in business transactions will benefit from this program.
Day One: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
9:00
Opening Remarks and Introduction
Kirsten S. Aunapu, Raj Tanden
9:15
Key Factors Shaping Financial Reporting
- Objectives of financial reporting
- Overview of authoritative financial accounting literature
- SEC-registered and public company vs. private company accounting and reporting
- Other key factors
Ozan Karan
10:15
Networking Break
10:30
A Detailed Look at Basic Financial Statements
- The purpose of financial statements
- Reporting to stakeholders
- Comparability
- Basic Financial Statements
- Income Statement
- Balance Sheet
- Statement of Cash Flows
- Statement of Shareholders’ Equity
- Accounting fundamentals and core concepts
- Matching principle, accrual method
- Historical cost, fair value
- Estimation and judgment
- Case Study: Business Transactions
- The mechanics of accounting
- Impact to financial statements
- Disclosures and footnotes
- How to read financial statements
- Role of the auditor
Preethi Desa, Sally Ann Flood
12:00
Lunch Break
Afternoon Session: 1:15 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
1:15
Practical Elements of Finance
- Discounted cash flow (DCF)
- Net present value (NPV)
- Internal rate of return (IRR)
- Discount rate
Jennifer L. Blouin, Dubravka K. Tosic
2:30
Networking Break
2:45
Capital Structure
- Overview of capital structure theories
- Common financing alternatives - debt, equity and hybrids
- Factors affecting capital structure
- Sources of funding
- Stock buy-backs
William B. Brentani, Katharine A. Martin
4:00
Closing Business Transactions
- A detailed look at negotiation
- How to divide-and-conquer when working with an investment bank
- Common stumbling blocks to closing transactions
- Examination of “fringe” deal issues that often create transaction friction
Raj Tanden, Andrew A. Wiederhorn
4:51
Adjourn
Day Two: 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
Morning Session: 9:00 a.m. - 12:45 p.m.
9:00
Valuation Application and Methodologies
- Concept of Value
- Historical Financial Analysis
- Overview of valuation approaches
- What to look for in a valuation
- Valuation applications: M&A, Fairness opinions, disputes, commercial damages, debt capacity, etc.
Philip Graves, Kenneth P. Herzinger
10:30
Networking Break
10:45
Managerial Accounting Basics
- Key differences between financial accounting and managerial accounting
- Cost classifications and their impact on managerial decisions
- Cost behavior: understanding variable and fixed costs
- Cost-volume profit analysis
- Critical performance metrics, including ROI and residual income
- Inventory costing options and their impact on profitability and comparability
- Ratio analysis
Kelly Richmond Pope
11:45
Solvency, Restructuring and Bankruptcy
- State of the capital markets and outlook
- Analysis of indicators and causes of financial distress
- Solvency
- Liquidity
- Financing
- An overview of the restructuring process and alternatives
- Out-of-court
- Chapter 11 reorganization
- Impact on constituents (employees, creditors, suppliers, customers)
- Real estate considerations
Doug Bodel, Todd J. Rosen
12:45
Lunch Break
Afternoon Session: 1:45 p.m. - 5:00 p.m.
1:45
Practical and Ethical Considerations for Corporate Transactions Today
- Reconciling deal considerations with ethical obligations
- Common pitfalls associated with drafting transaction documents
- Ethical negotiation of representations and warranties
- Post-acquisition considerations
Edward T. Schultz, Raj Tanden
3:15
Networking Break
3:30
Legal and Accounting Perspectives on Securities Fraud and Financial Accounting and Reporting Irregularities
- The “Dark Side” of Earnings Management: the “what,” “how” and “why” of improper manipulation of reported earnings and results of operations
- Recent securities fraud cases and their legal and accounting implications
- Current legal and accounting issues regarding frauds by SEC registrants
- Whistleblowing after Dodd-Frank
- Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) enforcement
- The state of internal corporate investigations
Dan Dooley, Catherine E. Moreno
5:00
Adjourn
Co-Chair(s)
Kirsten S. Aunapu ~ Partner, National Office Accounting Consultation, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Raj Tanden ~ BuchalterNemer, A Professional Corporation
Speaker(s)
Jennifer L. Blouin ~ Associate Professor of Accounting, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
Neeraj Chawla ~ Director, Valuation Services, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP
Philip Graves ~ Senior Manager, Advisory Services/Business Valuation, Deloitte Financial Advisory Services LLP
Ozan Karan ~ Senior Manager, Financial Accounting, Valuation & Securitization, Deloitte & Touche LLP
Andrew A. Wiederhorn ~ Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Fatburger North America, Inc., Fog Cutter Capital Group, Inc.
Program Attorney(s)
San Francisco Seminar Location
PLI California Center, 685 Market Street, San Francisco, California 94105. (415) 498-2800
San Francisco Hotel Accommodations
The Palace Hotel, 2 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, California 94105. Call (800) 917-7456 seven days a week from 6:00 am to 12:00 am (PDT) and mention you are attending this program at Practising Law Institute to receive the preferred rate. For online reservations, go to www.sfpalace.com/pli to receive the preferred rate.
Due to high demand we recommend reserving hotel rooms as early as possible.
PLI programs qualify for credit in all states that require mandatory continuing legal education for attorneys. Please be sure to check with your state and the credit calculator to the right for details.
Please check the CLE Calculator above each product description for CLE information specific to your state.
Special Note: In New York, newly admitted attorneys may receive CLE credit only for attendance at "transitional" programs during their first two years of admission to the Bar. Non-traditional course formats such as on-demand web programs or recorded items, are not acceptable for CLE credit. Experienced attorneys may choose to attend and receive CLE credit for either a transitional course or for one geared to experienced attorneys. All product types, including on-demand web programs and recorded items, are approved for experienced attorneys.
Please Note: The State Bar of Arizona does not approve or accredit CLE activities for the Mandatory Continuing Legal Education requirement. PLI programs may qualify for credit based on the requirements outlined in the MCLE Regulations and Ariz. R. Sup. Ct. Rule 45.
If you have already received credit for attending some or the entire program, please be aware that state administrators do not permit you to accrue additional credit for repeat viewing even if an additional credit certificate is subsequently issued.
Credit will be granted only to the individual on record as the purchaser unless alternative arrangements (prearranged groupcast) are made in advance.