CEO's Message: Year-End Already—Can You Believe It?—Fourth Quarter 2023
Year-End Already—Can You Believe It?
Parnell Black, MBA, CPA, CVA
NACVA's Chief Executive Officer
At the moment, the idea of year-end is difficult to comprehend. I find myself thinking it is still May and I have plenty of time to get accomplished what I set my sights on earlier this year, only to be reminded when I look outside, it is not spring, it is winter; where did the time go? NACVA has had an incredibly busy year; and it never seems to slow down. It has been challenging too, but it is all good and I count my blessings that I am never at a loss for something to do. As you may have figured over the years, I am a glass is half-full person, which is the only way to be if you want a happy life. In the first quarter 2024, I will summarize some highlights of 2023 and some of our exciting plans for 2024. For now, I have a few things I want to share.
Leadership Initiative Board (LIB)
The LIB is our newest board, established in June of this year. Chaired by Ron Rudich, this board is already at full-throttle. They have on their plate beta testing two new databases which are under development with ValuSource software. One is for determining a DLOM, the other is for estimating a company’s growth rate. They are exciting, revolutionary in thought, and will shake things up in the profession. Release date: 1st quarter 2024 and 2nd quarter 2024, respectively. Look for more to come on these.
The LIB is also heavily involved in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which has led to the newly formed AI Working Group (AIWG). The AIWG is comprised of two representatives from each the LIB, Ethics Oversight Board (EOB), Standards Board (SDB), and the Executive Advisory Board (EAB); representing interests from all sides of the AI equation—forward thinking, ethics issues, standards issues, and organizational concerns—all of which will be topics for the AIWG discussions.
NACVA has always felt its responsibility to take the leadership role in the industries we support by being proactive in thought leadership and legislative/regulatory issues and concerns. The predecessors to the LIB were NACVA’s Leadership Think Tank Committee (LTT) and Legislative Action Committee (LAC). Though the purposes of each Committee made total sense, they lacked the structure and continuity required to be productive, for which I take all the blame. The only way to truly solve that problem was to formalize their respective roles under the authority of a member elected Board. Thus, the LIB was formed, and, with this writing, I am formerly dissolving the LTT and LAC. I want to extend my deepest appreciation to those members who had volunteered for these Committees along with my apologies that I could not find a way to make these Committees productive in the way I had envisioned.
Practice Continuation Agreement
Fifteen or so years ago, NACVA had a member, a sole-proprietor, who had a couple employees. Sadly, he had a stroke and became incapacitated for a period of time. The way I had heard about his story was in the context of what happened after his stroke where his employees capitalized his tragic circumstance and took-off with his clients. I was very upset when I heard the story and never let it go. The idea that came out of this was for NACVA to create a Practice Continuation Agreement (PCA) template with which our sole-practitioners and those with small firms could arrange beforehand with another practitioner or firm to purchase his/her practice on a moment’s notice should he/she die or become temporarily or permanently disabled. I actually had our attorney draft an agreement quite a few years ago, one that our members could use, but for reasons I cannot remember, never followed through to make this document available. A few months ago, one of our long-time members and a sole-proprietor also privy to this story, remembered I had had this agreement drafted and asked me whatever happened with it. This spurred me to dig it up, have our current attorney update and polish it, and follow through with what I started 15 years ago. The Practice Continuation Agreement template is a new exclusive member benefit, drafted by an attorney with one of the top law firms in Utah, for the exclusive use by NACVA members, or on behalf of their estate. This is to be used in planning and preparing to sell one’s practice should they have a sudden tragic event that prevents them from continuing to operate their business and to capitalize on the value and goodwill they have created from many years of hard work. All NACVA members have unrestricted permission to use this document; non-members do not have permission.
Firm Sponsorships/Mentor Support Exchange (MSX)
Within NACVA’s MSX, we have what we refer to as Firm Sponsorship where members in larger firms of reasonable size and depth can essentially promote their services and support to other members with smaller firms and capabilities, and sole-proprietors, to assist in engagements where the small firm/proprietor does not have the wherewithal to properly take-on or handle such engagement. This could mean the firm/proprietor does not have adequate staffing, the engagement requires expertise the firm/proprietor does not possess, or the smaller firm/proprietor lacks the confidence handling the engagement on their own. Sometimes too, there could exist a conflict of interest necessitating the firm/proprietor takes a lower profile in servicing the engagement. There are many reasons why a small firm/sole-proprietor might want a larger firm in their back-court.
Currently we only have a handful of Firm Sponsors signed up with NACVA’s MSX and I would like to see more. If you are in a firm of reasonable size and depth, I highly recommend you sign up. You can do so by clicking here. There is literally nothing to lose. Your firm’s post is free for the first two years.
Tribute
Recently, we had some terrible news that long-time member, John Marcus, has passed away. John was a wonderful man, and though I had not seen him in many years, I remember him to be very kind, always good natured with a smile on his face, and always willing to help. In the early years of NACVA, we came to depend on a group of members, our A-Team, who were always there to help and who without, NACVA would not exist today. John was on our A-Team. I know too he was appreciative of his relationship with NACVA, sending me notes complimenting me, and more often complimenting my staff which I always loved to hear. He did this, I believe, because he wanted to brighten my day, though I know he was always speaking from his heart. Everyone who knew John loved him.
In this issue of the Association News, we have a tribute written by Michael Kaplan and Jeff Diamond. Click here to read it.
Thank you for your support.
Leadership Initiative Board (LIB)
The LIB is our newest board, established in June of this year. Chaired by Ron Rudich, this board is already at full-throttle. They have on their plate beta testing two new databases which are under development with ValuSource software. One is for determining a DLOM, the other is for estimating a company’s growth rate. They are exciting, revolutionary in thought, and will shake things up in the profession. Release date: 1st quarter 2024 and 2nd quarter 2024, respectively. Look for more to come on these.
The LIB is also heavily involved in the area of Artificial Intelligence (AI) which has led to the newly formed AI Working Group (AIWG). The AIWG is comprised of two representatives from each the LIB, Ethics Oversight Board (EOB), Standards Board (SDB), and the Executive Advisory Board (EAB); representing interests from all sides of the AI equation—forward thinking, ethics issues, standards issues, and organizational concerns—all of which will be topics for the AIWG discussions.
NACVA has always felt its responsibility to take the leadership role in the industries we support by being proactive in thought leadership and legislative/regulatory issues and concerns. The predecessors to the LIB were NACVA’s Leadership Think Tank Committee (LTT) and Legislative Action Committee (LAC). Though the purposes of each Committee made total sense, they lacked the structure and continuity required to be productive, for which I take all the blame. The only way to truly solve that problem was to formalize their respective roles under the authority of a member elected Board. Thus, the LIB was formed, and, with this writing, I am formerly dissolving the LTT and LAC. I want to extend my deepest appreciation to those members who had volunteered for these Committees along with my apologies that I could not find a way to make these Committees productive in the way I had envisioned.
Practice Continuation Agreement
Fifteen or so years ago, NACVA had a member, a sole-proprietor, who had a couple employees. Sadly, he had a stroke and became incapacitated for a period of time. The way I had heard about his story was in the context of what happened after his stroke where his employees capitalized his tragic circumstance and took-off with his clients. I was very upset when I heard the story and never let it go. The idea that came out of this was for NACVA to create a Practice Continuation Agreement (PCA) template with which our sole-practitioners and those with small firms could arrange beforehand with another practitioner or firm to purchase his/her practice on a moment’s notice should he/she die or become temporarily or permanently disabled. I actually had our attorney draft an agreement quite a few years ago, one that our members could use, but for reasons I cannot remember, never followed through to make this document available. A few months ago, one of our long-time members and a sole-proprietor also privy to this story, remembered I had had this agreement drafted and asked me whatever happened with it. This spurred me to dig it up, have our current attorney update and polish it, and follow through with what I started 15 years ago. The Practice Continuation Agreement template is a new exclusive member benefit, drafted by an attorney with one of the top law firms in Utah, for the exclusive use by NACVA members, or on behalf of their estate. This is to be used in planning and preparing to sell one’s practice should they have a sudden tragic event that prevents them from continuing to operate their business and to capitalize on the value and goodwill they have created from many years of hard work. All NACVA members have unrestricted permission to use this document; non-members do not have permission.
Firm Sponsorships/Mentor Support Exchange (MSX)
Within NACVA’s MSX, we have what we refer to as Firm Sponsorship where members in larger firms of reasonable size and depth can essentially promote their services and support to other members with smaller firms and capabilities, and sole-proprietors, to assist in engagements where the small firm/proprietor does not have the wherewithal to properly take-on or handle such engagement. This could mean the firm/proprietor does not have adequate staffing, the engagement requires expertise the firm/proprietor does not possess, or the smaller firm/proprietor lacks the confidence handling the engagement on their own. Sometimes too, there could exist a conflict of interest necessitating the firm/proprietor takes a lower profile in servicing the engagement. There are many reasons why a small firm/sole-proprietor might want a larger firm in their back-court.
Currently we only have a handful of Firm Sponsors signed up with NACVA’s MSX and I would like to see more. If you are in a firm of reasonable size and depth, I highly recommend you sign up. You can do so by clicking here. There is literally nothing to lose. Your firm’s post is free for the first two years.
Tribute
Recently, we had some terrible news that long-time member, John Marcus, has passed away. John was a wonderful man, and though I had not seen him in many years, I remember him to be very kind, always good natured with a smile on his face, and always willing to help. In the early years of NACVA, we came to depend on a group of members, our A-Team, who were always there to help and who without, NACVA would not exist today. John was on our A-Team. I know too he was appreciative of his relationship with NACVA, sending me notes complimenting me, and more often complimenting my staff which I always loved to hear. He did this, I believe, because he wanted to brighten my day, though I know he was always speaking from his heart. Everyone who knew John loved him.
In this issue of the Association News, we have a tribute written by Michael Kaplan and Jeff Diamond. Click here to read it.
Thank you for your support.
Parnell Black, MBA, CPA, CVA
Chief Executive Officer, NACVA
Chief Executive Officer, NACVA
