Christopher M. Lovin, CPA/ABV/CFF, CFE

Christopher M. (Chris) Lovin is Shareholder-in-charge of LBMC’s Valuation & Litigation Support Services practice. His passion for these two service areas is driven by opportunities to teach attorneys, triers of fact and business owners about the financial and analytical aspects of these engagements.  Chris started his career in public accounting as a financial statement auditor and spent two years in that role before moving into the Valuation and Litigation Support Services group where he spends the majority of his career engaged in commercial litigation with complex financial and economic issues.  He has testified numerous times as an expert witness regarding lost profits in commercial litigation cases.  His engagements include litigation resulting from the following:

• Breach of contract
• Infringement of intellectual property
• Unfair competition
• Shareholder disputes
• Embezzlement
• Securities fraud

These engagements require the compilation and analysis of large amounts of accounting, financial, statistical and economic data.  He summarizes and presents this data in a clear and convincing manner using meaningful and concise reports, visual aids and effective expert testimony. Representative litigation engagements include the following:

• Fraud examination involving embezzlement by an employee of $1.1 million over a ten year period using four different schemes leading to a plea agreement with the district attorney’s office
• Fraud examination involving embezzlement of $670,000 over a three year period requiring testimony in criminal court
• Trade dress infringement case regarding guitar design requiring a calculation of defendant’s profits and testimony for disgorgement of those profits in Federal Court
• Copyright infringement case involving floor plan designs requiring a calculation of defendant’s profits and testimony for disgorgement of those profits in Federal Court
• Valuations of affiliated companies subject to a shareholder dispute and conflicts of interest requiring testimony in Chancery Court
• Assessment of lost profits related to an alleged inducement to breach a non-solicitation agreement leading to testimony in Federal Court

Chris performs business valuations and valuations of intangible assets covering a broad spectrum of industries.  Chris performs valuations to assist his clients with the following:

• Goodwill impairment testing to comply with FASB ASC 350
• Valuations of intangible assets and earnouts to comply with FASB ASC 805 regarding the allocation of purchase price to tangible and intangible assets
• Valuations of stock-based compensation including stock options, restricted stock and phantom stock to comply with IRC 409A and FASB ASC 718
• Valuations of closely-held companies for the purpose of determining the value of equity interests in those companies for federal and state gift and estate tax planning and reporting
• Mergers and acquisitions

Chris’ valuation practice has a concentration in healthcare and healthcare technology companies.  Healthcare companies valued include physician practices, ambulatory surgery centers, urgent care centers, imaging centers, dialysis clinics and assisted living facilities.  Chris has significant experience in the valuation of complex earnouts and intangible assets including the following:

• Trademarks and trade names
• Proprietary technology
• Customer relationships
• Non-competition agreements
• Personal goodwill

Certifications

• Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
• Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV)
• Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE)
• Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF)