Understanding Firm Value - The Fundamentals for Legal & Corporate Professionals

Introduction

Understanding how a firm creates, sustains, and measures value is essential for professionalsinvolved in legal advisory, corporate transactions, strategic planning, or risk management.

Aimed at professionals who advise, support, or work alongside management rather than lead it, including lawyers, in-house counsel, compliance officers, corporate advisors, and legal or financial professionals involved in corporate transactions and risk assessment, this new virtual classroom seminar will introduce you to core valuation concepts, business fundamentals, market drivers, and risk dynamics that determine firm value.

The emphasis is on practical application, including real case examples used in M&A, corporate litigation, shareholder disputes, regulatory assessments, and strategic analysis.

On completion of this session, you will:

• Understand what determines a firm’s intrinsic and market value
• Identify the financial and non-financial drivers of firm performance
• Assess value creation and destruction in strategic decisions
• Interpret valuation metrics used by analysts and investors
• Apply scenario analysis to understand value changes under uncertainty
• Communicate valuation insights effectively to clients, boards, GCs, and senior partners

What You Will Learn

This live and interactive session will cover the following:

• What is Firm Value? The Fundamentals
• The difference between market value, book value, and intrinsic value
• Why value matters in legal, financial, and strategic contexts
• Short-term vs long-term value creation
• Value through the eyes of:
• Investors
• Regulators
• Partners / senior management
• Courts (disputes, shareholder claims, damages)
• Key Drivers of Firm Value
• Revenue growth, margins, operational efficiency
• Capital structure and cost of capital (WACC in simple terms)
• Risk factors impacting value (market risk, credit risk, litigation risk, regulatory uncertainty)
• Competitive advantage (moats, barriers to entry, pricing power)
• Macro-financial environment (interest rates, inflation, sector cycles)
• Valuation Methods Explained Simply
• Methods covered:
• Discounted Cash Flow (DCF)
• Comparable Company Analysis
• Precedent Transactions
• Earnings Multiples (P/E, EV/EBITDA)
• Asset-based valuation
• Scenario & Sensitivity Analysis
• How assumptions change firm value
• Testing the impact of risk events (FCA investigation, litigation, data breach, supply chain disruption)
• Interpreting scenario outputs for decision-making
• Communicating uncertainty effectively
• Value Creation & Value Destruction in Practice
• M&A, divestitures, and restructuring
• Governance failures and impact on valuation
• ESG and reputational risk
• Management decisions that enhance or erode value
• Communicating Firm Value Insights
• Translating financial insights into plain English
• Briefing boards, partners, or GCs
• Structuring executive messages
• Using visuals (charts, tables, bridges)
• Avoiding common communication mistakes

Recording of live sessions: Soon after the Learn Live session has taken place you will be able to go back and access the recording - should you wish to revisit the material discussed.