Conference Highlights—Third Quarter 2016
NACVA and the CTI’s 2016 Annual Consultants’ Conference held this past June in San Diego, CA was a spectacular assembly of presenters, attendees, exhibitors, candidates, and staff. This one pulled out all the stops, featuring prestigious keynote speakers, engaging training sessions, an assortment of networking opportunities, and many more events to enjoy. It proved to be a truly remarkable Silver Anniversary celebration.
Continuing the Legacy of Excellence The iconic Hotel del Coronado on Coronado Island, CA was the backdrop for NACVA’s Silver Anniversary Conference the week of June 6, 2016. Over 600 attendees including exhibitors and candidates for NACVA’s Certified Valuation Analyst® (CVA®) and Master Analyst in Financial Forensics® (MAFF™) participated in the event. More than 200 attendees participated on the live online broadcasts. Here is what a few attendees had to say: “This was my first NACVA Conference and I hope to go to many more. The Conference had high quality speakers and was well organized and professional. I like how eager everyone is to learn from each other.” Bruce A. Johnson, ASA Munroe, Park & Johnson, Inc., San Antonio, TX
“Absolutely great Conference; maybe the best in my 41 years of practice. I attended the first NACVA Conference 25 years ago, which left an impression on me, so will this 2016 Conference.” Gary R. Summers, CPA, CVA, CEPA CEO, SS&C Solutions, Inc., Lawrence, KS
“So far this is the best conference I have ever attended and I pretty much stick to NACVA for CPE. I think NACVA is far superior than many of the organizations training.” Dave F. Zarlenga, CPA, ABV, CVA, CFE H&J CPAs, Concord, OH
“The education by top-notch presenters was the most valuable to me. I met some people that I will reach out to in the future regarding best practices. The venue was great. Keep having them at destinations of this caliber.” Kimberly C. Ford, CPA, CVA, MAFF The KFord Group, San Antonio, TX
“I always expect the top conference and you did not disappoint. I benefitted from meeting practitioners from all over with the same issues.” Dan W. Polachek, CPA, EA, MBA, CVA, CFP Northampton, MA
“I’m an investment banker doing M&A transactions, so I often feel like a lot of what NACVA offers is irrelevant to me, since it focuses on litigation and IRS issues. However, I found a number of presentations in San Diego to be right up my alley.” George Coope, CVA Zepponi & Company, San Francisco, CA
“The atmosphere of being with those who really want to learn and progress in our field of endeavor was the best.” Ronald G. Boyer, CPA, CVA Boyer & Conniff, LLP, San Ramon, CA
Reviving America and Perspectives on Clinton, Trump, and Sanders—Steve Forbes’ Opening Keynote Address
Steve Forbes, two time Republican nominee for the U.S. Presidency and Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media delivered the opening keynote address. He offered remarks on three critical issues he feels will revive America and the U.S. economy; repealing the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare), replacing the U.S. tax code, and reforming the Federal Reserve. He also weighed in on the 2016 race for the U.S. Presidency.
Senior Judge David Laro with the U.S. Tax Court, delivered the general session address, Finding Resolution Through Concurrent Witnessing—Hot-Tubbing with the Judge and Expert. Recently judges have been using new tools, from court-appointed experts to “hot-tubbing,” to aid them in sorting through the conflicting positions in order to get to the essence of the matter. Rather than the traditional cross-examination lawyers use to trip up experts, the Judge sits in the courtroom and has a conversation with the experts without the lawyers. Laro co-presented this session with valuation expert Mel Abraham. Exchange of Ideas—New and Proven The conference featured the profession’s leading and emerging experts and sessions programmed into the following tracks:- 2016 Current Update in Valuations Symposium
- Business Valuation Report Peer Review
- Business Valuation and Financial Forensics—How to Do It: From Foundations to Advanced
- Current Trends in Business Valuation and Financial Forensics
- Business Applications, Communication, and Practice Management
- Specialty Areas of Practice
The following training programs were also hosted during the week:
- Litigation Report Writing Workshop
- Foundations of Financial Forensics Workshop
- Report Writing: Review and Analysis
- Valuing Family Limited Partnerships
The Around the Valuation World® Morning Show was featured at the conference. View the segments below which summarize a few of the sessions presented during the conference.
Todd Zigrang, President of Health Capital Consultants discusses the current regulatory environment surrounding vertical integration transactions in the healthcare industry, and details the flawed premises that have ignored the economic principles in healthcare system delivery realities, and resulted in increased scrutiny. 
Honorable Judge Chris Yates discusses the legal parameters governing expert witnesses, and the communication and persuasive skills necessary to be an effective expert witness. 
Around the Valuation World Correspondent Mark Felton discusses takeaways from Doug Bania and Brian Buss's presentation Employing Internet and Social Media Analytical Tools in Valuation and Damages. 
Around the Valuation World Correspondent Michael Gregory summarizes takeaways from the 2016 Current Update in Valuations Symposium regarding the Three Valuation Approaches: Challenges and Issues. 
Christina Chard, Assistant Professor and Director, Master of Forensic Accounting with the University of Charleston discusses the digital age and shares tips and considerations for forensic accountants. Celebrating the Profession’s Brightest NACVA has focused significant energies over the past quarter century to building communities and not cliques. Distinguished from other professional valuation organizations are the great strides made to get members and the profession’s leading thought leaders involved in pioneering and taking the industry forward. NACVA’s 2016 Wall of Fame—Honors and Recognitions were given to current, newly elected, and outgoing NACVA board members, the 2015 Instructor Awards, Outstanding Members, Committee Chairs, State Chapter Leadership, to the editorial board members for the Value Examiner®, National Litigation Consultants’ Review™, QuickRead®, Around the Valuation World®, the Journal of Forensic and Investigative Accounting, as well as the Institute of Business Appraiser’s Board of Governors and Business Appraisal Practice Editorial Board. “Members are also our source of ideas for new courses, products, services, and ways we could improve. Frankly, if there is a definition of a ‘member-driven and member-run association,’ we are it,” states Parnell Black, NACVA’s CEO and Co-Founder.
Over the past quarter century, NACVA has helped shape and influence the business valuation, financial forensics, and related consulting professions with the support of countless subject matter experts leading the charge. We are pleased to recognize these Industry Titans—The Financial Consulting Profession’s Most Influential who have had the greatest impact on the profession.
We are thrilled to recognize the 2016 Honorees for their accomplishments to the profession and their communities and for their contributions yet to come.
NACVA’s 2016 Conference Schedule If you missed the conference in June, mark your calendar and plan to attend NACVA’s upcoming 2016 specialty conferences.
Brien K. Jones, Chief Operations Officer and Executive Vice President Photo Credit: Chanda Chuon and Brett Losee
