Our Principal – Divorce

Professional Profile

Brandi L. Ruffalo is the Managing Director of Valuation and Forensic Partners, LLC.  Brandi has more than 25 years of experience in valuation and financial consulting and provides support and expert witness testimony in litigation matters including shareholder disputes, divorce, and damages and personal injury calculations.  Brandi’s work ranges from standardized valuation and damages calculations to complex financial modeling and analysis involving simulations and options models.

Brandi has earned the designations of Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) as awarded by the National Association of Valuation Analysts (NACVA), the Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) from the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA), the Certified Divorce Financial Analyst (CDFA) from the Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts (IDFA), and she is a Fellow of the Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois.  Brandi participated on the NACVA teaching and course authoring teams for over ten years.  She has been a regular presenter at regional and national conferences, a presenter at various online training seminars, and a co-author of the Wiley Guide to Fair Value Under IFRS.

Brandi holds licenses and credentials in financial disciplines outside of valuation that allow her to maintain a broad perspective on the market, investors’ perceptions of risk and return and alternative means for generating returns that help her to bring a “live” market perspective into her work as a litigation support professional, consultant, advisor and financial neutral.

Education

  • University of Chicago, Graduate School of Business
    • MBA with Honors; Focus in Finance and Entrepreneurship
  • Texas A&M University – College Station, TX
    • BBA in Business Analysis/MIS, College of Business Fellow

Certifications

  • CVA – Certified Valuation Analyst, National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts, July 2001.
  • Series 7 License General Securities Representative; FINRA, held through Independent Financial Group, LLC, November 2001
  • Series 63 License Uniform Securities Agent State Law; FINRA, held through Independent Financial Group, LLC, November 2001
  • Series 65 License Uniform Investment Adviser Law; FINRA, held through Independent Financial Group, LLC, December 2001
  • AIF – Accredited Investment Fiduciary, April 2010 – Inactive
  • Life and Health Insurance Producer (effective February 2011**)
  • CBA – Certified Business Appraiser, Institute of Business Appraisers, October 2011
  • AIFA – Accredited Investment Fiduciary Analyst, December 2011
  • Variable Contracts Insurance Producer effective March 2012*
  • Property and Casualty Insurance Producer effective May 2015**
  • CDFA – Certified Divorce Financial Analyst, Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts, November 2016
  • Fellow, Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois, January 2018

Awards & Honors

  • Chairman, Academic Track International Conferences National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts, 2005 – 2010
  • IACVA – The International Association of Consultants, Certificate of Appreciation for Contributions to “A Worldwide Centre for Valuation Professionals,” 2008
  • Instructor of Distinction and Exceptional Distinction, National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts, 2006 – 2012

Memberships and Associations

  • American Business Appraisers National Network
  • National Association of Certified Valuators & Analysts
  • Institute for Divorce Financial Analysts
  • Collaborative Law Institute of Illinois
  • International Association of Collaborative Professionals
  • Northwest Suburban Bar Association
  • DuPage County Bar Association

Sample List of Publications & Presentations

  • What is a Reasonable Rate of Return for Court Purposes? or the Quest for the Holy Grail, IICLE: Business Valuation, Financial & Tax Issues in Divorce: Defining and Understanding Income, January 18, 2021.
  • COVID-19 and Business Valuation: Where we are now and where it takes us, American Business Appraisers & BVR Annual Key Issues Update, October 2020.
  • COVID-19 and its Impact on Business Valuations in Divorce, National Association of Divorce Professionals, June 2020.
  • COVID-19 and its Impact on Business Valuations in Divorce, IICLE, June 2020.
  • Valuation of Closely Held Businesses, The Decalogue Society of Lawyers, March 2020.
  • QDROs: An Overview and Alternative Approach to Use in Collaborative Cases, Northwest Practice Group, CLII, February 2020.
  • A Primer on Business Valuation, The Northwest Suburban Bar Association Business Committee, December 2017.
  • The Financial Neutral in Litigation, Thompson Coburn LLP Chicago Business Litigation Group, July 13, 2016.
  • Cost of Capital – A Practitioner’s Perspective, The 25th Annual Business Valuation Conference by the MN Assoc. of Business Valuation Professionals, February 2015.
  • What’s “Fair” About Business Value in Divorce? Or What’s “Fair” Value in Divorce? Association of Divorce Financial Planners 12th Annual Conference, October 2014.
  • Cost of Capital Case Study and Panel, Southeast Chapter of Business Appraisers Conference, September 2014.
  • Goodwill in Divorce, FICPA Valuation, Forensic Accounting & Litigation Annual Conference, January 2013.
  • The Valuation “Quick Fix” – How Appraisal “Abuse” Can Destroy a Divorce, Association of Divorce Financial Planners, September 2013.
  • The World Is Not Flat! An Overview of What US Valuation Practitioners Need to Know About International Business Valuation, 2012 NACVA’s Annual Conference.
  • How to Keep Valuation From Killing the Deal, 2012 The Alliance of Merger & Acquisition Advisors Summer Conference.
  • Advanced Income Approach — Advanced Valuation Application and Models Workshop, 2012 NACVA Fall Business Valuation Symposium Featuring Industry Masters.
  • Fairness Opinions, 2012 Regional Conference, Southeast Chapter of the IBA.
  • Advanced Workshop on Normalization Adjustments, Business Valuation Resources Webinar Series, December 2012.
  • Normalizing Financial Statements: Normal or Not? Factors to Consider, 2011 NACVA’s Annual Consultants Conference.
  • Divorce Value and Goodwill, 2011 Regional Business Valuation Conference,
    Southeast Chapter of the IBA.
  • Chapter 6: Excellent Valuation Reports” and “Chapter 16: Customer
    Relationships
    ,” Wiley Guide to Fair Value Under IFRS. (NJ, Wiley, 2010).
  • Case Law Update, 2009 NACVA’s Annual Consultants Conference General Session.
  • Advanced Business Valuation Case Study Instructor, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013 for NACVA’s Consultants Training Institutes.
  • Determining Cost of Capital Using Duff & Phelps, 2008 and 2009 NACVA’s Consultants Training Institutes.
  • Making Sense of the Cost of Capital Hoopla, 2008 NACVA’s 15th Annual Conference.
  • Making Sense of the Cost of Capital Hoopla – 2008, National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts Fifteenth Annual Consultants’ Conference.
  • Duff & Phelps 2007 Equity Risk Premium Report Webinar, 2008 NACVA’s Online Learning Lecture Series.
  • Valuation in M&A, 2006 – 2008 Various Law Firms and Professional Associations.
  • Supply-Side Models: Are They Relevant in Business Valuation Work? 2007 NACVA’s 14th Annual Consultants Conference.
  • Building Blocks of Good Report Writing – 2006, 2007, National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.
  • Advanced Tools to Improve Report Writing – 2006, 2007, National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.
  • Current Update in Valuations – 2006, National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.
  • Current Update in Valuations – 2005, National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.
  • Business Valuations: Universal and Fundamental Applications – 2004, International Association of Certified Valuation Analysts.

*Licensed in Illinois, Texas and Florida

**Licensed in Illinois