Qualifications for the AVA—
Accredited Valuation Analyst Designation

To qualify for the Accredited Valuation Analyst (AVA) designation, the applicant must:

1. Hold a business degree (i.e., management, economics, finance, marketing, accounting, or other business field) and/or an MBA (masters of business administration) or higher business degree from an accredited college or university;
   
2. Be able to demonstrate with business references or attestations from previous employers and/or partners substantial experience in business valuation. For this purpose, substantial could mean:
   
   1. Two years or more of fulltime or equivalent experience in business valuation and related disciplines (such as mergers and acquisition work, securities analyst for a major brokerage concern, economic loss analysis, etc.); or
      
   2. Having performed ten or more business valuations where the applicant’s role was significant enough to be referenced in the valuation report or a signatory on the report; or
      
   3. Being able to demonstrate substantial knowledge of business valuation theory, methodologies and practices. For example, having a combination of published works on the subject and completed either a Ph.D. in finance or economics or D.B.A. from an accredited institution of higher education and having some work experience. Or, having obtained an accreditation from another recognized valuation-accrediting organization.
      
3. Be a member in good standing with NACVA;
4. Attend an optional five-day training program;
   
5. Submit three personal and three business references and a minimum of one letter of recommendation from an employer, CPA or business associate; and
   
6. Pass a comprehensive two-part examination. Part One is a five-hour proctored exam (see below), and Part Two is a take-home/in-office exam that incorporates a standardized case study (provided by NACVA) that requires performing a complete business valuation. Part Two of our exam takes 40–60 hours to complete. (See Experience Alternative for Case Study on page 11 of the Association Brochure.)

An application to take the examination must be submitted prior to issuance of the exam. To hold an active AVA designation, individuals must maintain current membership in NACVA. AVAs who allow their membership to lapse will lose their certification, and must reapply to become certified if they later choose to reinstate their membership.

Qualifications for Government Employed Valuators

NACVA offers the AVA certification to government employees under a different set of criteria.

To qualify the applicant must:

1. Have a four-year college degree, i.e., a minimum of a BA, BS, or similar degree;
   
2. Have the combined equivalent of two years of full-time experience in business valuation (BV). BV experience requirements must be approved by the applicant’s immediate supervisor or the BV Committee for the applicable government-funded institution;
   
3. Have a minimum GS-12 or comparable rating (excep-tions will be considered upon written request from a supervisor attesting to the applicant’s qualifications and competency to pursue certification);
4. Be a Government employee member in good standing with NACVA;
   
5. Be currently employed by a federal or state government agency;
   
6. Attend an optional five-day training program;
   
7. Pass a comprehensive two-part examination. Part One is a five-hour proctored exam, and Part Two is a take-home/in-office exam incorporating a standardized case study (provided by NACVA) that requires performing a complete business valuation. Part Two of our exam takes 40–60 hours to complete. (See Experience Alternative for Case Study on page 11 of the Association Brochure.)

To deal with the issue of Quality Control in a government institution, we recommend the following programs be in place, as applicable:

1. A BV Oversight Committee consisting of six to ten management personnel from the institution;
   
2. A BV Review Checklist to be used in all valuation reviews (critiques) as a means of creating continuity, quality, and greater efficiency in the review process and subsequent valuation and report preparation;
   
3. A grading system to incorporate into the BV Review Checklist to facilitate the critique process, document conclusions, create continuity, and determine what aspects of the valuation under review are the strongest and can thereon be leveraged to prepare the subsequent valuation report;
   
4. Encourage pre-training to applicants who might be weak in the areas of accounting, tax, and financial analysis and test them in these areas to pre-qualify before pursuing the training;
   
5. Establish or adopt standards for performing valuation work, which would include the use of the BV Review Checklist and grading system, if this process is a normal part of the institution’s valuation work.

An application to take the examination must be submitted prior to issuance of the exam. To hold an active AVA designation, individuals must maintain current membership in NACVA. AVAs who allow their membership to lapse will lose their certification and must reapply to become certified if they later choose to reinstate their membership.

CVA/AVA Designation Application (PDF)

2008 Business Valuation and Certification Training Center Brochure (PDF)

CVA/AVA Training Center Locations, Dates and Curriculum
Business Valuation Training Center Pre-Reads

Recertification and Reporting Requirements

CVA/AVA Exam

CVA/AVA Recertification (PDF)

Transferring Designations

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