Three-quarters of the Top 100 accounting firms report increased growth in their business valuation services for 2013. BV is No. 4 in the rankings of the fastest-growing niche services, up three percentage points over the previous year. This is according to the latest study, “Top 100 Firms,” by Accounting Today (free registration required).

Biggest leap: The top two spots are held by tax services in the international and state/local tax fields, respectively, with these areas maintaining their positions over the previous year. Notably, the year’s “biggest leap” came in estate/trust/gift planning, which jumped into the No. 3 spot. This area is up nine percentage points and three spots over 2012, with 78% of firms reporting growth in this area. In the No. 5 spot is litigation support, up seven percentage points and two spots, with 74% of firms reporting growth in this niche.

Rounding out the top 10 are attest services, forensics/fraud, industry specializations, nonprofit organizations, and mergers and acquisitions. All of these areas reported slightly lower gains, except for industry specialization, which was an area of growth for 62% of firms (same percentage as the previous year).

The uncertainty surrounding the fate of the estate tax exemption and lifetime gift tax exclusion laws was a likely cause of the increased growth in the estate/trust/gift area. As for the big jump in litigation services, the report notes that one firm, Eisner Amper, attributes its 10% growth in litigation services to several areas (all good news for valuation analysts), including breach of contract disputes, intellectual property and patent infringement cases (particularly in the pharmaceutical industry), divorce, and bankruptcy litigation.