Editor's Column

Abstract

This is my first Editor's Column of the Business Valuation Review. I am honored that Roger Grabowski and the Business Valuation Committee considered me for the task. As all know, Roger Grabowski is a giant in the business valuation field. His encyclopedic knowledge is well known, and his communication skills are the best. We are all most grateful for his service to our field, not only through his editorial services to the Business Valuation Review, but also his many insightful articles, courses taught, presentations, and the massive work, Cost of Capital, he co-authors with Shannon Pratt. Roger Grabowski is a hard act to follow.The Business Valuation Review depends on article submissions. I encourage you to submit articles—please refer to the Call for Papers on page? If you feel your work load is too high to spend time researching and writing on your own, please consider partnering with a finance or economics professor as a co-author. Academics need to publish to maintain their standing in academe.1 Academics may have access to some data you, the “practitioner” may not have, and you may have access to data they might not have; so you may find working with an academic to be a fruitful pooling of efforts. In addition, academics have the training to apply quantitative analytical methods to data and theories that most practitioners do not have. However, you, the practitioners of business valuation, have insights into finance and valuation that academics do not have. So with your experience with real-world issues and academics' quantitative skills, it can be a winning combination.Furthermore, it is nice to be able to report on your resume that you are the author of a solid article published by the premier journal in our field. Publishing in the Business Valuation Review will distinguish you from other “experts” through your contribution and your professional colleagues' recognition.There is no lack of important issues that need investigation and elucidation. The “experts” have not finalized the approaches to valuation issues. There is much to investigate, like the cost of capital, discounts for lack of marketability or control, liquidity, systematic risk, unsystematic risk, restricted stock studies, analyses of private company transactions, closed end funds' discounts, takeover premia, forecasting growth, measuring risk, private company values vs. public company values, financial distress, legal case analyses, accounting issues, the valuation of exotic and not so exotic options, as well as preferred stock and debt, and the list goes on. Have you had the thought, “I wonder about ______ (fill in the blank)?” Well, that may be an excellent topic for an article. What problems are you trying to solve? They may also be food for articles.The Business Valuation Review has been at the forefront of the business valuation field for more than thirty years because of the dedicated professionals in the business valuation field, and we appreciate your contributions.Dan McConaughy is a Director in Valuation Services at Crowe Horwath LLP′s Los Angeles office, and he is a Professor of Finance in the Department of Finance, Financial Planning and Insurance at the College of Business and Economics at California State University Northridge. He consults regarding the valuation of businesses and business interests, derivative securities, economic damages, and intangible assets for bankruptcy, financial reporting, tax purposes, mergers and acquisitions, financial structuring, and litigation support services.Dr. McConaughy has a PhD in Finance from the University of Cincinnati, PhD and MA degrees in Syriac and Greek from the University of Chicago, and a BS in Business Administration from the College of Charleston. He has published more than 25 publications in academic and professional journals in the areas of cost of capital, capital structure, IPOs, mergers and acquisitions, illiquidity discounts, family business, executive compensation, and restricted securities under Rule 144. He was the co-editor of the Journal of Small Business Management.