Margaret A. Fischer, CFA, ASA

Margaret Fischer is the Chief Executive Officer and a Managing Director of Cortland Valuation Group, Inc. (“CVG”). In this capacity, she is responsible for corporate operations, providing functional support across the organization. Ms. Fischer also co-chairs CVG’s oversight committee for the firm’s valuation technical standards. She plays an active role in working closely with clients, providing authoritative oversight to the valuation engagement leaders.

Her casework includes the valuation of business interests, derivative interests, securities, intangible assets and intellectual property, as well as real property and real property interests. Her work is performed for mergers and acquisitions, tax and financial reporting compliance, and litigation support. She has extensive experience working with corporate and individual taxpayers as well as the Internal Revenue Service, and has been involved in dispute resolution at the exam, appeals, and tax court levels. In addition, she is an expert in financial reporting requirements including fresh start accounting, ASC 805 Business Combinations (formerly SFAS 141R), ASC 350 Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (formerly SFAS 142), and ASC 718 Compensation – Stock Compensation (formerly SFAS 123R). Ms. Fischer’s industry experience includes biotech, communications, energy, government contracting, manufacturing, professional services, real estate and construction, restaurants, retail, software, technology, private equity, hedge funds and venture capital, among others. She has also worked with non-profit organizations in the health care, education, and software industries.

Ms. Fischer has over 30 years of experience performing valuation and transaction advisory services. She was formerly a director at Caliber Advisors where she led the tax valuation group. Prior to Caliber, Ms. Fischer was an associate managing director in the valuation division of Kroll Zolfo Cooper, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kroll Inc. In this role, she performed the company’s internal ASC 805 and ASC 350 financial reporting valuations, managed the valua­tion of multi-billion-dollar entities undergoing restructuring, and maintained a local practice per­forming business valuations. Before joining Kroll, she was a senior associate at Business Valuation Services (CBIZ) and director of valuation services for The Valuations Group in Memphis, Tennessee. Ms. Fischer began her career as a real estate analyst, appraising various types of commercial real estate – apartment complexes, subdivision developments, office and industrial buildings, and shopping centers. She continues to work on portfolio property appraisals.

In addition to her client responsibilities, Ms. Fischer lectures to government agencies, law firms, and the business community on business valuation–related topics. She also taught business valua­tion at the University of California, San Diego Exten­sion. Ms. Fischer received her BS in business with a concentration in finance-real estate from Indiana Uni­versity’s Kelley School of Business in 1988. She is a member of numerous professional organizations including AITF (Appraisal Issues Task Force), holds the Char­tered Finan­cial Analyst and Accredited Senior Appraiser designations, and sup­plements her education with courses offered by the American Society of Appraisers and Appraisal Institute. She is a Board Member for the Washington D.C. Estate Planning Council and a former Board Member for the CFA Society of Washington, D.C. Ms. Fischer received the Family Firm Institute’s (FFI) Certificate in Family Business Advising in 2014, and the FFI Advanced Certificate in Family Business Advising in 2016.

Professional Affiliations

  • CFA Charterholder, CFA Institute
  • Member, CFA Society of Washington, DC
  • Accredited Senior Appraiser, American Society of Appraisers
  • Practicing Affiliate, Appraisal Institute
  • Member, Appraisal Issues Task Force (AITF)
  • Member, North County Estate Planning Council, San Diego, CA
  • Member, Washington DC Estate Planning Council

Selected Speaking Engagements

  • CFA Society Washington, DC Career Management Conference, From Employee to Entrepreneur, 2019
  • XPX DC Metro, Value Drivers and a Successful Exit, 2018
  • Greater Washington Society of CPAs, Business Valuation for Tax Reporting, 2015
  • Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants Northern Chapter, Current Developments in Estate and Gift Valuations, 2014
  • North County Estate Planning Council of San Diego, Current Developments in Estate and Gift Valuations, 2013
  • Capital Business Source DC, Effective Business Planning to Maximize Value, 2012
  • San Diego State University, Entrepreneurial Management Center Business Forum, Transitions in Family Enterprises, 2012
  • Wells Fargo Foothill, Applied Valuation Principals, 2009
  • CompTel Plus Convention, From Tee to Green: Strategies For a Company from Start-up to Sale, Valuation Considerations, 2008
  • University of California San Diego, Business Valuation Course BUSA40477, 2007
  • Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, Business Valuations: Art, Science or Voodoo?, 2003
  • Internal Revenue Service, Western Region, Valuation Implications of Built-in Capital Gains Tax, 2000
  • Estate Planning Council of San Diego, Determining the FMV of Fractional Interests, 1999
  • American Society of Appraisers San Diego, Valuation Issues for Partial Interests in Asset Holding Companies, 1998

Margaret Fischer

 

Contact Margaret

619-339-3007
202-629-1384
mfischer@cortlandvaluation.com

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