Bruce Altman, Head of KPMG Corporate Finance's Advisory Services and Financial Opinions Team, was quoted in Mergers Unleashed

July 1, 2009

Bruce Altman, managing director with KPMG Corporate Finance LLC's Advisory Services and Financial Opinions team, was quoted in Avram Davis' article, entitled "The Debate Between "Art" and "Science" in Valuation Assessments Continues to Rage On," in Mergers Unleashed.  

Valuation services is certainly no easy work. The debate continues on identifying the true value of an asset. Recently, various government agencies such as Congress, the SEC, and FINRA have attempted to establish valuation standards. This debate centers around a fundamental difference of perspective between investment banks and independent valuation firms.

Independent firms generally follow standards set forth by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), while banks see this method as gut-driven with determinations that cannot always be calculated.

Despite the differing perspectives on this topic, the actual instances in which investment banks and independent valuation firms compete directly for business are very limited. Bruce Altman does not believe a financial adviser who is involved in other components of a transaction and also provides a fairness opinion is necessarily viewed as a significant conflict of interest. As such, he said independent financial advisers are more likely to compete directly with an investment bank "when there is an additional perceived or real conflict of interest."

About KPMG Corporate Finance LLC

KPMG Corporate Finance provides a full suite of investment banking and advisory services to its domestic and international clients. Our professionals have the experience and depth of knowledge in global M&A and project finance to advise clients on mergers and acquisitions, sales and divestitures, buy-outs, financings, debt restructurings, equity recapitalizations, fairness opinions, infrastructure project finance, and other advisory initiatives. In addition, we remain independent of financing sources, helping to ensure that our efforts are objective and aligned with the goals of KPMG’s firms’ clients. Operating in 62 countries, KPMG’s Corporate Finance practice comprises more than 2,200 professionals who are able to meet the needs of KPMG’s firms’ clients across the globe. In 2008, as a leading financial adviser, KPMG’s Corporate Finance practice completed 390 deals totaling US$51.5 billion, according to Thomson Reuters’ global M&A league tables.