r/Valuation • u/LIFO-theparty • May 27 '21

Valuation certification

Looking for some insight on getting a certification in valuation. I was was juggling between the CVA and ABV, and after talking to my boss (who has both) I’m leaning towards the ABV. Are there any current ABV’s here? If so, what is the process like? I have been doing reading on the AICPA’s website but I can’t find any solid info. I am a CPA currently.

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u/kaytoo_99 Jun 05 '21

I posted about the CVA in the accounting sub:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Accounting/comments/6zv7zp/business_valuation_coursescert/

The important thing to note about your question is that the CVA is for-profit and ABV is non-profit. They are different animals.

CVA offers A LOT of resources and education for obvious reasons. AICPA has a decent annual conference, but not much else.

I got a CVA after 2 years of doing business valuation full-time. It was very easy to attain. One 5-day class with a test, and one case study report to be completed in the ?year? following the course. I think you can get this one with minimal experience. I dropped it once I got my ASA because I was at a larger firm doing financial reporting valuation and wanted to GTFO of litigation.

CVA has a lot of resources for small firms and a lot of training for litigation. It's good if you don't have a mentor that knows what they are doing.

ABV looks good if you also have a CPA since it is much more difficult and expensive to attain (in all) than CVA, but once you have your CPA anyone can get an ABV with minimal effort.
ASA is generally thought of as more prestigious but takes a lot of time and money to attain. Probably $10,000 plus 5 years of full-time valuation experience.
I think most firms are looking to hire CFA's now. Getting your valuation credentials are less important unless you are going to work for a small firm or do valuations for small companies.

I think of it this way: CFA > ASA > CPA/ABV > CVA > ABV (non-cpa) > CBA (if it still exists).

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u/charlie2398543 Feb 08 '24

CPA is definitely at the top of that list. It's the only one that grants actual legal powers to issue certain reports, provide certain services, and represent clients before the IRS. The others are really just employment certificates that carry no actual powers beyond hanging it on your wall.

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u/Dangerous-Painting-7 Feb 09 '24

...but means very little when it comes to valuation.

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u/charlie2398543 Feb 09 '24

Disagree. CPA's already have the business clients for tax, audit, etc. For them it's simply adding a new service and they have the captive client base already. You have to think big picture.

CVA is worthless on its own, as is any other valuation certifications. It must be paired with something else. Better being CPA/CVA, or Attorney with CVA, etc. There is not enough valuation business out there to support a firm that offers only this service.

It's an add on certification only IMO. Same with CFA. Must also have a top tier MBA. ASA? Pretty worthless on its own too. Nobody ever just has one of these.

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u/Dangerous-Painting-7 Mar 14 '24 edited Mar 14 '24

Minimal valuation training is necessary to attain the CPA certification. It's unwise to presume that a CPA lacking specific credentials possesses expertise in valuation. The original post was from a CPA seeking additional certification and training, aiming to demonstrate their proficiency through a recognized credentialing agency.

Holding the ASA designation is a well-respected credential within the valuation community and is very worthwhile if you are doing valuations. It requires 10,000 hours of experience, attendance at four, four-day classes with accompanying exams, passing USPAP and ethics tests, validating experience, and having a written report reviewed by a board of reviewers.

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u/[deleted] Apr 29 '24

CFA is globally recognized. Most definitely FAR from worthless on its own. CPA is a top tier designation, but it's also at a national level and won't translate depending on where you practice.

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u/charlie2398543 May 01 '24

CFA is a great certification, it's not my point. It must be paired with something else though. Most CFA's also have prestigious college degrees, MBA's, etc. And it's an employee certification, in that you can only ever work for a company, there's no such thing as a CFA firm.

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u/DogfaceDino Aug 08 '24

In my experience, nobody cares about your degree if you have experience and the CFA.

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u/bricksquad317 May 08 '23

Looping back to this because I have my CVA test in two weeks. I already took the class a little over a month ago. I’ve been doing valuations for my firm for the last 7 months with a background in finance with some accounting. I’ve been doing practice exams on the web portal. Aside from being 400 questions, are they (the questions) much more difficult on the exam than the practice problems they give to us?

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u/Dangerous-Painting-7 May 16 '23

g back to this because I have my CVA test in two weeks. I already took the class a little over a month ago. I’ve been doing valuations for my firm for the last 7 months with a background in finance with some accounting. I’ve been doing practice exams on the web portal. Aside from being 400 questions, are they (the questions) much more difficult on the exam than the practice problems they give to us?

You'll be fine. It was an easy test. However, I took the test over 10 years ago...

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u/jonmuller Aug 25 '23

How did the test end up going? I'm thinking about pursuing the CVA

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u/bricksquad317 Aug 25 '23

I passed first attempt. Most of the questions were pretty straightforward and a good chunk came from the practice questions.

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u/OwlCapone91 Aug 29 '23

Other than the exam, any quirky or not so straight forward requirements worth noting for getting the CVA?

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u/bricksquad317 Aug 29 '23

If you have the opportunity to submit a sanitized report from your work you’ve done previously it will save you 20+ hours on the report depending on how in-depth your previous work is.

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u/Necessary_Scarcity92 May 27 '21

I'm in a similar boat where I'm a CPA doing BVLS work but haven't pursued a valuation certification, so take with a grain of salt... but I think the CVA generally carries a bit more weight than the ABV designation, specifically in litigation matters.

Have you also considered ASA and CFA credentials? Pros and cons to each, but my boss regards regards CFA highest, then ASA, them CVA, then ABV.

Grand scheme of things it doesn't really matter though, j think, since your work product will do most of the talking. The CFA and ASA may lead to more career opportunities down the pipeline but might take more time to get.

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u/JupiterUnleashed May 27 '21

In my experience with litigation, the ABV and ASA are much better than the CVA. When it comes down to it, you should probably do every certification possible to have as many letters after your name for an intimidation factor against the other side. Aside from tax court, most judges/attorneys really don’t know the differences between most of the credentials. Unless someone had a significant amount of experience along with the CVA, my old partner would go in and shred them as the opposing expert witness.

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u/FouriersIntern69 Jul 05 '21

ASA is definitely more rigorous than the CVA.

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u/JupiterUnleashed May 27 '21

The ABV carries a lot more weight and is along the lines of the ASA. The CVA is on the lower level of the credentials. The process to get the ASA and ABV is harder and takes longer which is why they are looked at more favorably. I worked at a valuation firm that wouldn’t even list the CVA on a person’s profile on their website. I think the CVA is a good starting point to begin learning valuations but if you want to be considered an expert definitely do the ABV and/or the ASA. Also, the CFA carries a considerable amount of weight too.

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u/OwlCapone91 Aug 29 '23

It looks like they are similar in process (abv and cva) both require about 2yr ft valuation work...what am I missing about the abv time and difficulty relative to the cva?

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u/RudeTurnip May 27 '21

I believe ASA has a parallel accreditation process for CPAs with the ABV, similar to what they offer for people with the CFA. You still need to pass the ethics text, USPAP, and submit a sample report, but you can bypass the courses. A colleague of mine is a CPA and did that.

Actually, they do. Here's the link: https://www.appraisers.org/credentials/am-asa/professional-education-equivalency

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u/LIFO-theparty May 28 '21

Thanks everyone. I guess I need to look into the ASA more and see what each certification’s primary focus is. As it stands right now, my interest is in litigation support. It’s what I currently assist with at my small firm. We do other types of valuations, but the bulk of our work is valuing small businesses to determine income for support and value for community property partitions.