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Mayo.
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March 9, 2016 at 7:35 am #200653
Anonymous
Inactivehttps://www.aicpa.org/ForThePublic/FindACPA/Pages/Find-an-ABV.aspx
Looks like there are just under 5,000 CPAs that are Accredited in Business Valuation in the U.S.
Has anyone taken the exam?
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March 16, 2016 at 6:45 pm #761504
How many letters do you need
ParticipantI haven't taken it yet but I have strong interest. I've connected with a forensic/valuation consultant and she seems willing to take me under her wing and send me over some valuation portions of what she does. My main concern for anybody looking at this is the experience. I have some valuation work in my past life in finance plus experience coming from my consultant connection should be good enough. But the average joe public accounting CPA looking into this arena, I would highly recommend coming up with a game plan for the experience because it seems fairly hard to get…
With all that, I'm definitely interested in starting up a thread for questions and discussion. This seems like as good a place as any!
MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?
March 16, 2016 at 10:00 pm #761505EuroAddict
ParticipantI interned in a valuation/fraud department for a local cpa firm. Boy was that department HIGHLY lucrative in terms of revenue.
There were 4 partners in that department all with a ton of credentials and 2 of the 5 staff were certified as well as cpa.
Are there many jobs out there for that type of position? The firm I was at did mainly high net-worth divorce cases.
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BEC - 77, 03/2015 (first try)
FAR - 79, 05/2015 (second try)
REG - 83, 12/2015 (first try)
AUD - 84, 03/2015 (first try)I got 99 problems but the CPA ain't one.
March 16, 2016 at 11:03 pm #761506How many letters do you need
ParticipantDivorce makes up some of valuation, and I think it makes sense to specialize, attempting to become the expert in a highly specialized area. Yes, the money is supposed to be amazing and that's why I think it's also very difficult to gain experience; the field is highly guarded….
MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?
March 17, 2016 at 12:23 pm #761507payfields
ParticipantCVA is another similar credential. I work at a small CPA firm at the principal is a CPA, CVA, CBM. CVA has come in handy a few times over the years for divorce litigation or for some of our clients purchasing another business and looking for valuations.
March 17, 2016 at 12:23 pm #761508payfields
ParticipantCVA is another similar credential. I work at a small CPA firm at the principal is a CPA, CVA, CBM. CVA has come in handy a few times over the years for divorce litigation or for some of our clients purchasing another business and looking for valuations.
March 17, 2016 at 4:49 pm #761509How many letters do you need
ParticipantSay what? I've never been one to judge a certification by it's difficulty but a 95% pass rate?? Maybe Ill swing by and give it a go on the way home from work…
https://www.nacva.com/content.asp?contentid=154
MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?
March 17, 2016 at 9:15 pm #761510payfields
ParticipantI couldn't find the pass rates posted anywhere for ABV. But everyone that compared the different valuation type of credentials said that the pass rate for pretty much all of them were pretty high.
Im pretty sure you have to submit a valuation you completed or a case study for peer review for the CVA, whip that up on the way to work too, not sure if you have to do any of that for the ABV.
CVA has definitely brought in some business, so it has done him well.March 18, 2016 at 8:55 pm #761511How many letters do you need
ParticipantPayfields – Didn't mean to offend, I appreciate hearing about any and all opportunities out there to expand my letter count, especially in the field of valuation as that is my present interest; hence why I've hijacked this thread :). Strictly speaking though, the value of any certification is in part due to how applicable it is to what you do but also the attainability of the certification. Simply supply and demand. At a 95% pass rate, not sure I want to even bother maintaining a certification that essentially has a higher pass rate than a DMV exam and is issued by an association that most people outside of the valuation business have never heard of. Doesn't mean it won't bring in business, just means I'm not sure it has much value compared to the ABV; and I don't see myself doing both.
Not sure what the pass rates for the ABV are, but I know experienced professionals in the field that say it's difficult. They require you to attest to your experience, punishable via ethics violation, of course. I actually LOVE the idea of submitting a project or case and think the AICPA should consider adding that to the requirements. I was surprised how little there was out there on this exam, I'm going to sign up shortly for the spring/summer windows so Ill be posting my experiences as they happen for anybody interested in knowing more about it..
MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?
March 19, 2016 at 1:05 am #761512payfields
ParticipantNo worries. I had never actually heard of the ABV before this thread. Only of the CVA. Just life i have heard of the CFE, but never heard of the CFF. Outside of our business a lot of these designations are unfamiliar.
I'm not sure anyone outside of the valuation business have heard of either certification. There are a similar number of individuals with both designation.It is weird that their website says 95%…. The other two sources i found showed a similar pass rate for both CVA and ABV of around 70%
https://www.willamette.com/insights_journal/11/summer_2011_3.pdf
https://www.bizval.net/qualifications/designations.htmMaybe the exam has gotten easier. Weird.
March 20, 2016 at 12:48 am #761513How many letters do you need
ParticipantPayfields – well what I meant was that at least the affiliation with the AICPA gives it some recognition value outside of the valuation world. The pass rates were just for the last two years so maybe it did get easier…..very weird. I know it's more expensive to maintain but I like having AIPCA certs mostly for that reason, if people ask you can always say it's delivered by the same people who do the CPA, just gives it some meat. Probably going to pick up the CFE as a primer for the CFF and others…I calculated it last night and before I'm done I'm going to have about $1500 per year in dues….haha addiction?
MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?
March 21, 2016 at 5:01 pm #761514How many letters do you need
ParticipantSo I'm plowing through all of the costing for the ABV. It's actually quite complex because they have three different cost tiers (depending on if you have AICPA membership, section membership or no membership). You don't need AICPA membership to take the exam, but you do to be certified. Section membership automatically comes with the annual credential fee (which is in addition to AICPA membership fees); but if you are a section member you will get your section dues returned on a prorated basis against the initial credential fee. Sound complex? Hell ya.
Being the diligent CPA that I am, I worked through all three scenarios for the 2016 summer/spring session. Ill post my findings later tonight.
Another thing on the sessions. So there has been a lot of format change lately with the ABV. It used to be one five hour exam (wow). They decided to add some and the cell split into two 3.25 hour exams. In 2015 they had two windows, summer and winter. Same rules as the CPA, you can take both exams in the same window but cannot retake the same exam in the same window. 2016 is different, they have a separate spring and summer window, and for what I presume will also be a fall and a winter later in the year. Don't be fooled though, they are called different windows but you cannot retake an exam in the summer for which you failed in the spring, which to me essentially makes them the same window with a two week break. A little stupid? Yes. I think they are trying to encourage people to split the two exams and not study for both at the same time. Who knows. But just be aware it is basically the same deal as 2015, what is essentially two windows with no retakes. Also, the ABV does have an expiration policy, both exams in a 12 month period. You have until the end of the session the following year from the time you pass your first one. Basically, you have three shots to pass the second once you pass the first….
MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?
March 21, 2016 at 5:43 pm #761515ror668
MemberBrian,
I am actually just embarking on the studying for my ABV as well. From what I have been told, a lot of the preparation for the exam comes from having some hands on valuation experience. At my old job I worked in Forensics/ Litigation so I have done quite a few valuations prior to my studying for the exam. In addition to the exam, you will need to obtain experience working on 6 valuation engagements, or 150 hrs of work on valuation engagements in the 5 years proceeding your application for license. (Should be easy to obtain if you work for a firm that does valuation work). Also the other requirement is having 75 hours of CPE in valuation specific fields.
March 21, 2016 at 7:08 pm #761516How many letters do you need
Participantror – you can gain experience in industry as well. I've had some time supporting M&A and doing some acquisition valuation so that works as well. Are you doing the spring/summer window?
MBA,CMA,CPA, CFF?, ABV?
March 21, 2016 at 7:22 pm #761517ror668
MemberI signed up for the summer window. I already got the study book so I am going to take my time going through it until i can schedule the exam.
March 22, 2016 at 7:18 pm #761518Anonymous
InactiveThe CVA exam pass rate is high, but the exam is only part of the credential. Most people don;t get through doing the case study. I kept in touch with some of the people from my class and I was the only one out of the 5 that finished.
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