In 2014, I walked into the old Campbell’s Soup plant in south Sacramento with a camera, clipboard, a pad of paper, a limited asset list, and noted appraiser Bob Podwalny. Our assignment was a retrospective 2013 property tax appraisal. Comstock’s article about the facility’s redevelopment references the plant as one of the “oldest and most…Read More
Case Study: Purchase Price Allocation for a Legacy Food Processing Facility
In an equipment appraisal for financial reporting purposes, the initial rough numbers were almost twice the purchase price. Because the enterprise had been on the market for a number of years and the purchase was an arm’s length transaction, that big difference between the preliminary calculation and the purchase price didn’t make sense … until…Read More
Spray Dry Technology: Atomizers and Evaporators
We regularly appraise food processing plants, and one constant is that they are all fascinating. From the basics of rice and almond processing, the specialty equipment of row-crop packaging and winemaking, to the intricacies of legacy facilities, I remain amazed by the technology. When I was hired by a CPA to appraise his client’s evaporation…Read More
Financial Reporting Appraisals: Acquisition Accounting
One of my favorite accounting professors, Dr. Larry Watkins, PhD, CPA, retired last year from Northern Arizona University, where I took many accounting courses before finishing up & graduating from Arizona St University in Tempe. In the years after I got my ASA and before he retired, we got together a few times for what…Read More
Rest in Peace: Robert Podwalney, FASA & Life Member
Robert Podwalny, FASA and Life Member, passed away on April 16, 2018, at age 74 after a lengthy ordeal with cancer. He is survived by his wife Linda, sons Robert & Daniel, and his sister Alexandra, grandchildren Kayla, Evan, Emma, Lili and Lincoln, as well as many nieces, and nephews. You can read more about his…Read More