An analysis of the pricing of Section 23 expert reports

This paper identifies and analyses the variables considered likely to determine the cost of Section 23 expert valuation reports. The results indicate that the size and type of the target company being valued and the type of expert (merchant bank, stockbroker or accounting firm) are significant determinants of expert report pricing, a predictive model is then developed using those variables found to be significant. When tested on a subsample of expert fees the predictive model indicated that merchant banks tend to overprice relative to accounting firms.