David Nolte

I am a founding principal of Fulcrum Inquiry, an accounting and economic consulting firm that performs damage analysis for commercial litigation, forensic accountings, financial investigations, and business valuations. I am a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA), as well as having other professional credentials. I regularly serve as an expert witness involving damages measurement. My litigation-oriented resume is on Fulcrum's website.

Most commented posts

  1. Federal health care fraud enforcement efforts recover record amounts — 2 comments
  2. Perhaps $2 Billion Owed Under Music Contracts — 1 comment
  3. Huge Patent Damage Award Reversed — 1 comment
  4. Bear Stearns’ Defendants and Deloitte Face Significant Exposure — 1 comment
  5. House votes to reduce GRATs – Act before the effective date — 1 comment

Author's posts

Whistleblower Recovery Is Ordinary Taxable Income

The Ninth Circuit decided a taxation case of first impression involving whether a qui tam or whistleblower recovery provides a taxable capital gain from a sale of property, or ordinary taxable income. The District Court in Los Angeles, and the Ninth Circuit both agreed with the IRS that the higher rate of taxation from ordinary …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/08/whistleblower-recovery-is-ordinary-taxable-income/

Proposed Changes to Litigation Accounting & Disclosures Are Dropped

In July 2012, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) voted to drop a controversial project that would have required companies to disclose more about contingent losses, including most notably those arising from litigation. The now-withdrawn proposal would have required significant additional disclosure of litigation. The vast majority of those commenting on the proposal opposed it, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/08/proposed-changes-to-litigation-accounting-disclosures-are-dropped/

Proposed Changes to Accounting and Disclosures of Pending Litigation Are Dropped

In July 2012, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) voted to drop a controversial project that would have required companies to disclose more about contingent losses, including most notably those arising from litigation. The now-withdrawn proposal would have required significant additional disclosure of litigation. The vast majority of those commenting on the proposal opposed it, …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/proposed-changes-to-accounting-and-disclosures-of-pending-litigation-are-dropped/

False Claim Act damages require additional valuation

In mid May, the D.C. Circuit held in United States of America, ex rel. Davis v. District of Columbia, that damages for suits under the False Claims Act (“FCA”) must consider the value of the services actually received. The failure to retain required documentation does not affect the value of the services received, and therefore …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/false-claim-act-damages-require-additional-valuation/

Accounting Standard Will Require Significantly More Leases To Be Put On The Balance Sheet

On June 13, 2012, after more than a year of deliberation, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) agreed on an approach for accounting for leases that generally will be simpler to implement than some of their earlier and more controversial proposals. The Boards plan to release a joint …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/accounting-standard-will-require-significantly-more-leases-to-be-put-on-the-balance-sheet/

Federal Circuit Approves Evidence of Both Settlements And Related Negotiations In Reasonable Royalty Damages

Patent law (35 U.S.C. § 284) allows for lost profits in patent infringement cases, but requires damages of at least a reasonable royalty even if lost profits cannot be substantiated. The determination of a reasonable royalty is most often done through a hypothetical negotiation which attempts to ascertain the royalty upon which the parties would …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/federal-circuit-approves-evidence-of-both-settlements-and-related-negotiations-in-reasonable-royalty-damages/

Will the IRS finally get serious about its whistleblower program?

A June 20, 2012 memorandum from Steven Miller, IRS deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement, acknowledges that the IS has done a poor job with it whistleblower program, and seeks to establish a new standard of much better responsiveness. This article describes the program that was signed into law at the end of 2006. Miller’s …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/07/will-the-irs-finally-get-serious-about-its-whistleblower-program/

Investment fraud and financial exploitation of seniors is an epidemic

Results of a study entitled “Elder Investment Fraud and Financial Exploitation Survey” were released on June 13, 2012. 762 responses from primarily state securities regulators, adult protective services workers, social workers, medical professionals, and financial planners provided an unequivocal message that the elderly are being taken advantage of to an alarming degree. The results include: …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/06/investment-fraud-and-financial-exploitation-of-seniors-is-an-epidemic/

MF Global Trustee Reports Significant Management Malfeasance

On June 4, 2012, James Giddens, the SIPA (Securities Investor Protection Act) Trustee for MF Global, issued a detailed 275 page report that provides enormous detail of what happened at MF Global before it became the eighth-largest U.S. bankruptcy.  MF Global appropriately received even greater attention because substantial amounts of customer deposits were missing.  The …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/06/mf-global-trustee-reports-significant-management-malfeasance/

Grassley again criticizes IRS whistleblower program administration

Senator Chuck Grassley is a member of the Senate Finance Committee. In a May 2012 letter, he prods Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman to do a much better job of timely compensating IRS whistleblowers for their information. See this article for more information about the IRS whistleblower program and the program’s …

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Permanent link to this article: https://betweenthenumbers.net/2012/05/grassley-again-criticizes-irs-whistleblower-program-administration/