English
Business & Professional Services
Highly-contested business valuation dispute in transportation industry
Brian Bakker has provided valuation and dispute advisory services for numerous purposes including marital dissolutions, commercial litigation, estate and gift taxation, purchase and sale advisement, C Corp-to-S Corp conversions, employee stock ownership plans, shareholder disputes, and other shareholder planning and litigation related matters. In addition to providing stand-alone business valuation reports, Brian has been actively involved in providing a broad range of financial advice to trial lawyers throughout the dispute process, including matters involving economic damage analysis, diminution in business value, breach of contract, financial modeling, forensic accounting, and business transactions disputes.
Brian’s experience includes providing expert witness testimony at both deposition and trial. Additionally, Brian has served as a mutually agreed-upon financial expert. Brian’s experience encompasses a wide range of industries, including manufacturing, contractors, wholesalers, professional practices, financial services, restaurants, oil and gas producers, agriculture, employee staffing agencies, automotive dealerships, transportation, miscellaneous retail, and municipalities.
Brian currently serves as a leader of the Grand Rapids office. Prior to rejoining Stout, Brian was a Senior Analyst at a regional business valuation firm. He also has prior commercial banking experience in West Michigan.
Select Presentations and Speeches
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Family Law Midsummer Conference August 2022
Current Market Trends and Updates Impacting Business Valuation & Expert Collaboration to Reach Effective Settlement Structures
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Smith Haughey Rice & Rogge December 2015
Commercial Litigation: Lost Profits & Lost Earnings, a User’s Guide
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Michigan Association of Professional Landmen March 2015
Business Valuation of E&Ps
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Grand Rapids Bar Association: Family Law Section January 2015
Simple Guide to Dissecting Tax Returns
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Davenport University December 2014
Business Valuation & Case Study
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Grand Valley State University October 2014
Business Valuation
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Case Study / Mock Trial January 2013
Testified as a mock expert witness involving the calculation of lost profits
Practice Areas
Education
B.B.A, Grand Valley State University, with Honors
Licenses & Designations
Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV)
Certified Public Accountant (CPA)
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)
Professional Memberships
Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants (MICPA)
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
CFA Society of West Michigan
Collaborative Divorce Professionals of West Michigan
Collaborative Practice Institute of Michigan
GR+ (a local organization of young professionals)
Community Engagement
Justice Foundation of West Michigan
Grand Rapids Community Foundation (In 2016, Mr. Bakker was named one of Grand Rapids Community Foundation’s One Hundred New Philanthropists as well as named by the foundation as a “Big Changer”)
