Executive Advisory Board Chair Message—First Quarter 2017
By Kristopher Boushie, CPA, ABV, CFF, CVA, CFE
Chair, Executive Advisory Board
It is hard to believe that NACVA celebrated its 25th anniversary last year. NACVA’s success is the result of the many years of hard work by its long-serving leadership and staff. Its success has also depended on the dedication of NACVA’s many members serving on the Association’s boards, committees, and task forces, as well as those who serve as instructors for the Association’s programs. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered their time and offered their talents to the Association. For those members who want to become more involved, now is the perfect time of the year, with board nominations upon us, to enter “the arena” (apologies to Theodore Roosevelt who may have not been referring to NACVA in his 1910 speech).
The Executive Advisory Board (EAB) has supported headquarters for most of NACVA’s 25-year history to better serve the changing and evolving needs of the Association as it navigates our rapidly-changing industry. The EAB provides oversight and guidance to the other boards and has decision-making authority pertaining to education and credentialing matters which fall outside the scope of the Valuation Credentialing Board and Litigation Forensics Board. In addition, the EAB can appoint or establish NACVA committees and task forces, and can propose the creation of new boards to the Board of Directors. One of the primary roles of the EAB is taking part in the Association’s annual strategic planning activities and working with headquarters throughout the year to meet the Association’s strategic goals and objectives.
Along with its monthly meetings and less formal communications throughout the month, the EAB meets with NACVA’s senior leadership for several days in a face-to-face meeting to discuss and finalize the Associations strategic goals and objectives for the upcoming year. We met this past August at the Association’s headquarters in Salt Lake City. This year, headquarters and the EAB agreed on seven goals, with about twice as many distinct objectives, and five times as many individual action items. EAB members volunteered to work with headquarters throughout the year on several goals and many of the action items.
The goals identified in this year’s face-to-face meeting were to: 1) Establish a strong foothold in forensic accounting; 2) Capitalize on momentum in academia (with establishing academic CVA programs); 3) Build a program for NACVA members in business advisory and growing valuation services; 4) Leverage technology; 5) Increase NACVA awareness and brand recognition; 6) Maximize NACVA membership value proposition/retention; and 7) Improve the effectiveness of boards and committees.
Specific action items that might be of interest include: significant changes to the Association’s web site and the Practice Support Headquarters website (www.practicesupporthq.com), creation of an attorney portal, promotion of a pro bono initiative, roll-out of the international CVA exam, developing a smartphone app, and setting up individual state chapter web sites.
Headquarters and the EAB are always interested in feedback and suggestions. Please feel free to reach out if you have ideas for strategic goals or action items you think NACVA should consider. Input is most welcome. NACVA’s continued vitality is dependent on its active and engaged membership. I am continually impressed by the talented members I meet and their willingness to lend their abilities to improve, promote, and grow NACVA. I know there are many more members with unique abilities that are not yet involved in the Association. I, and members of the EAB, heartily encourage those members who are involved to stay involved and for those not yet involved, to become involved.
