NACVA - National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts
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Advancing the Business Valuation & Financial Forensics Disciplines
Qualifications for the CVA—
Certified Valuation Analyst Designation

To qualify for the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) designation, the applicant must:

  1. Hold a valid and unrevoked CPA license issued by a legally constituted state authority (the Chartered Accountant [CA] designation issued in Canada is equivalent to the CPA in the U.S.);
  2. Be a Practitioner in good standing with NACVA;
  3. Attend an optional five-day training program;
  4. Submit three personal and three business references; and
  5. 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.)

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 Designation
The CVA/AVA Training Center is a five-day training program consisting of six different seminars geared to prepare individuals to take the 40-60 hour take-home or in-office exam required by the Association for CVA/AVA certification.

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Prerequisites for CVA Certification
Education College degree3
Experience in BV None
Other Credentials Required CPA
Work Experience-Other Than BV 2 yrs for licensed CPA
References Required Yes
Training Requirement Yes: 40 hrs5
Testing Requirements
Proctored Exam Yes
Length of Proctored Exam 5 hrs
Case Study Yes
Time to Complete Case 40–60 hrs
Submission of Client Report None7
Recertification Requirements
Continuing Professional Education in BV and Related Areas Yes
Hours of CPE / Reporting Term 36 hrs minimum every 3 yrs8
Ethics, Standards and/or reporting Training and Testing 8 hrs training every 3 yrs thereafter; no test required, unless self-study9
Quality Enhancement, Quality Review or Peer Review Yes: quality enhancement
Continuing Experience None15
Other Credential Features
Inactive Status Available Yes
Times/Places Proctored Exam Offered Anytime, nationwide, thousands of locations
Requirement to Adhereto BV Standards Yes
NACVA Footnotes
  1. Information herein can be found in "The Association" brochure published by NACVA and updated annually
  2. In the past, NACVA offered three business valuation designations: the CVA, AVA, and the GVA. As of June 1, 2002, the GVA was rolled into the AVA designation and no longer exists.
  3. Implied due to CPA requirement; most states require a college degree to become a CPA
  4. Degree must be in field of business
  5. Can exempt out if one holds a BV credential from one of the other BV credentialing organizations
  6. AVA applicants may also be tested on accounting fundamentals as applicable to the business valuation process
  7. Applicants may apply to submit a client BV report in lieu of the Case Study if they have 10,000 hours or more experience in business valuation or an equivalent thereof
  8. CPAs are required to obtain 40 hours of CPE each year to maintain their CPA license in most states. Designees who obtain applicable CPE greater than 36 hours may receive credit towards fullfilling recertification and other requirments
  9. Member may submit a client BV report for grading in lieu of training in the second and subsequent reporting periods; passing score satisfies requirement
  10. Many credentials are recognized for meeting this prerequisite, all of which have a college degree/equivalent requirement to them. Without holding one of these credentials, applicant must have a post-graduate degree in business
  11. Experience in 10 litigation matters is required, in 5 of which applicant gave depositions or expert testimony
  12. Can exempt out of part [or all] of the training showing proof of substantial experience, or by having similar training on certain topics
  13. A report prepared under Federal Rule 26 within the last 3 years, and admitted into evidence, can be submitted in lieu of the case study
  14. Active in 6 litigation matters every 3 years
  15. Designees who meet certain experience requirements may receive credit towards fullfilling recertification and other requirements
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