News from the Annual Forensic and Valuation Services "Town Hall

The Town Hall this morning got underway with congrats to Tom Burrage and Bob Bray who are ending their terms in FVS leadership  and, of course, to Ron Seigneur, the 2013 conference chair for the business valuation sessions at the annual conference. Ron was supported by the committee including Randie Dial, Rosanne Aumiller, Travis Harms, Stacy Udell, and Charles Willhoite. The new executive leadership of the section begins with Carol Carden (Pershing Yoakley), the new chair of the FVS Executive Committee.   She’s joined by the new Business Valuation Committee Chair Randie Dial (CliftonLarsonAllen) and Bill Kennedy (Berkley Research Group), who is the ABV Credential Committee Chair.

Carden started by mentioning the new FVS Online Professional Library, which mostly includes the various forensic and business valuation Practices Aids.  New aids on goodwill impairment and in process R&D valuation issues are due out in the next 90 days from FVS.

The FVS also put out two white papers this year: Valuation and Transactional Issues Associated With Employee Stock Ownership Plans and Dual Mutli-Period Excess Earnings in the Valuation of Intangibles. More are planned for early 2014.

There’s also an increased emphasis on international issues. First, the Council and the AICPA Board are starting to offer specialized credentials internationally. Initially, the rollout is to Canada with the CFF. There’s no word on when the ABV will joint the fray and become yet another competing BV designation internationally (RICS, IACVA, and others are already in that game—and there are increasing national associations offering or considering BV certification programs).

The FVS also has participated outside the profession—offering comment letters to the Department of Labor on its changes to the term “fiduciary" and also in response to the Appraisal Foundation’s Valuation of Customer-Related Assets. The FVS is also providing a member to TAF’s business valuation committee, beginning in 2014.

This is the 15th anniversary of the ABV.  Ed Dupke has even created a history of the ABV: CPA/ABV—The 15th Anniversary.  It’s available at www.aicpa.org/abv15. There are now 3,125 credential holders and 26 admittees to the BV Hall of Fame. Sixty-three new ABVs have been awarded in the last 12 months, with more due during the fall exam.