NACVA’s Champions—Second Quarter 2025
NACVA's Champions
NACVA's champions include our valued instructors and leaders in the business valuation and financial forensics field. Their knowledge and experience are an important part of our Association’s strength and history. The insights below share how others have navigated challenges, built their careers and expertise, and provide inspiration for other NACVA members as they grow in the profession
Noah Van Zandt, CPA, ABV, CFE
Noah Van Zandt, CPA, ABV, CFE
My Path into Forensic Accounting
When I graduated with a degree in economics, I did not know exactly what I wanted to do. I just knew I liked working with numbers and solving problems. I was fortunate to land my first job at FAZ Forensics in the forensic accounting field, and almost immediately, I felt like I had found the right fit. The work was interesting, dynamic, and impactful. It did not take long for me to realize I wanted to build a career in this space.
I have been at FAZ Forensics ever since. I am now a Manager, and I have been lucky to work at a firm with a great culture that also gives me the chance to be involved in every part of the engagements I work on, from digging into financial records and building analyses to writing reports and interacting with clients. That kind of full exposure has helped me build confidence and develop my skills much faster than I think I would have in a more segmented environment. I am extremely grateful for my colleagues at FAZ Forensics that have supported and pushed me to be the professional I am today.
NACVA has also played a big role in my professional journey. Being named a 2022 Thirty Under Thirty honoree was a huge confidence boost. It made me feel seen and supported in a field that can be very demanding. That recognition led to an invitation to speak on a panel at NACVA’s national conference, which was a great experience and helped me feel more connected to the wider valuation and forensics community. I have also appreciated the learning opportunities NACVA offers, especially more specialized content like the Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets workshop, which helped me deepen my knowledge in a rapidly changing area.
I am still learning, still growing, and still grateful to be doing work that challenges me. Looking back, I never could have predicted this path, but I am glad I found it.
When I graduated with a degree in economics, I did not know exactly what I wanted to do. I just knew I liked working with numbers and solving problems. I was fortunate to land my first job at FAZ Forensics in the forensic accounting field, and almost immediately, I felt like I had found the right fit. The work was interesting, dynamic, and impactful. It did not take long for me to realize I wanted to build a career in this space.
I have been at FAZ Forensics ever since. I am now a Manager, and I have been lucky to work at a firm with a great culture that also gives me the chance to be involved in every part of the engagements I work on, from digging into financial records and building analyses to writing reports and interacting with clients. That kind of full exposure has helped me build confidence and develop my skills much faster than I think I would have in a more segmented environment. I am extremely grateful for my colleagues at FAZ Forensics that have supported and pushed me to be the professional I am today.
NACVA has also played a big role in my professional journey. Being named a 2022 Thirty Under Thirty honoree was a huge confidence boost. It made me feel seen and supported in a field that can be very demanding. That recognition led to an invitation to speak on a panel at NACVA’s national conference, which was a great experience and helped me feel more connected to the wider valuation and forensics community. I have also appreciated the learning opportunities NACVA offers, especially more specialized content like the Cryptocurrency and Digital Assets workshop, which helped me deepen my knowledge in a rapidly changing area.
I am still learning, still growing, and still grateful to be doing work that challenges me. Looking back, I never could have predicted this path, but I am glad I found it.
William K. Fowler, CVA, ABAR, MAFF
Dear Parnell,
Hope all is going well for you, and it has been an honor to be a member of NACVA and known you all these years which goes as far back as 1991 when I first was recruited with the U.S. Treasury Department in Los Angeles, California.
Parnell, if you remember, I was working for Large Case Exam, Internal Revenue Service under the leadership of Howard Lewis, who at that time was the IRS National Director of Valuation. Howard recruited me along with five other individuals from all parts of the USA to become a fast-track team member in valuation. But, if you recall, at that time, the IRS did not have any designations from NACVA so Howard and your team came up with new designations of CVA and ABAR. Matter of fact, I was the first candidate at that time to take the ABAR exam in Los Angeles since Howard needed commissioned officers such as myself designated within the IRS to be able to review valuations from the standpoint of the Treasury Department. Back in the 1990’s I was considered a pioneer of valuation since the Treasury only had engineers to perform the valuation work, not financial valuation analyst as they do today.
When I was recruited out of 2500 candidates for the position of valuation/business appraiser, I was thrilled to obtain the job in Los Angeles and began to review business valuations from all over the United States and was fortunate enough to be able to review some of the most talented valuation experts in the USA, including of course, the Emeritus Shannon Pratt’s work.
I continued to move forward with training within NACVA and picked up the designations of CVA and MAFF which of course broadened my career within the Internal Revenue Service. I was fortunate to examine the largest corporations in the world, and from that experience the IRS requested that I represent the Government in large valuation estate and gift tax issues such as the Kaufman vs. Commissioner case in which I was designated as an expert witness in renowned Judge Laro’s court (he was author of the Mandelbaum decision regarding Lack of Marketability) and I fortunately won a satisfactory decision for the Government.
Parnell, by having the designations of CVA, ABAR, and MAFF, I was able to increase the receipts of the Western Division of the Treasury Department to a 500% increase over previous years’ totals. From this standpoint, the IRS decided to hire more valuation recruits since this was an area within the Government which needed to be expanded on a national level. Subsequently more government agents were needed to obtain certifications from NACVA, which is still the case today.
Since I was working for the Large Case Exam group, the largest monetary valuation issues, my work brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to the Treasury, and yes, we can thank NACVA for these certifications to further the Government’s expertise in valuation.
I retired from the IRS in the late mid 2000 period but have kept my hands in valuation and forensic work under my company name, W.K. Fowler & Associates, see www.wkfowlerconsulting.com I still provide expertise to Estate and Gift Tax clients, and to entrepreneurs trying to navigate the complex regulations regarding cannabis and the federal tax rules around 280E.
Recently, I have been approached by NACVA to provide a webinar concerning forensics and the IRS’s assumptions regarding the production of cannabis. This is an exciting area since we now have moved into the area of Artificial Intelligence and how this can be applied in coordination with the discipline of forensics.
My career has been exciting seeing the advances in valuation from the early beginning of Excess Earnings mythologies and now to the new frontier of forensics and AI. We must thank you and your dedication to NACVA for all these innovations in the field of valuation and all its complexities.
Wish the best to you.
William K. Fowler, CVA, ABAR, MAFF
Qualified Expert Business Valuation Witness in Federal Tax Court
Hope all is going well for you, and it has been an honor to be a member of NACVA and known you all these years which goes as far back as 1991 when I first was recruited with the U.S. Treasury Department in Los Angeles, California.
Parnell, if you remember, I was working for Large Case Exam, Internal Revenue Service under the leadership of Howard Lewis, who at that time was the IRS National Director of Valuation. Howard recruited me along with five other individuals from all parts of the USA to become a fast-track team member in valuation. But, if you recall, at that time, the IRS did not have any designations from NACVA so Howard and your team came up with new designations of CVA and ABAR. Matter of fact, I was the first candidate at that time to take the ABAR exam in Los Angeles since Howard needed commissioned officers such as myself designated within the IRS to be able to review valuations from the standpoint of the Treasury Department. Back in the 1990’s I was considered a pioneer of valuation since the Treasury only had engineers to perform the valuation work, not financial valuation analyst as they do today.
When I was recruited out of 2500 candidates for the position of valuation/business appraiser, I was thrilled to obtain the job in Los Angeles and began to review business valuations from all over the United States and was fortunate enough to be able to review some of the most talented valuation experts in the USA, including of course, the Emeritus Shannon Pratt’s work.
I continued to move forward with training within NACVA and picked up the designations of CVA and MAFF which of course broadened my career within the Internal Revenue Service. I was fortunate to examine the largest corporations in the world, and from that experience the IRS requested that I represent the Government in large valuation estate and gift tax issues such as the Kaufman vs. Commissioner case in which I was designated as an expert witness in renowned Judge Laro’s court (he was author of the Mandelbaum decision regarding Lack of Marketability) and I fortunately won a satisfactory decision for the Government.
Parnell, by having the designations of CVA, ABAR, and MAFF, I was able to increase the receipts of the Western Division of the Treasury Department to a 500% increase over previous years’ totals. From this standpoint, the IRS decided to hire more valuation recruits since this was an area within the Government which needed to be expanded on a national level. Subsequently more government agents were needed to obtain certifications from NACVA, which is still the case today.
Since I was working for the Large Case Exam group, the largest monetary valuation issues, my work brought in hundreds of millions of dollars to the Treasury, and yes, we can thank NACVA for these certifications to further the Government’s expertise in valuation.
I retired from the IRS in the late mid 2000 period but have kept my hands in valuation and forensic work under my company name, W.K. Fowler & Associates, see www.wkfowlerconsulting.com I still provide expertise to Estate and Gift Tax clients, and to entrepreneurs trying to navigate the complex regulations regarding cannabis and the federal tax rules around 280E.
Recently, I have been approached by NACVA to provide a webinar concerning forensics and the IRS’s assumptions regarding the production of cannabis. This is an exciting area since we now have moved into the area of Artificial Intelligence and how this can be applied in coordination with the discipline of forensics.
My career has been exciting seeing the advances in valuation from the early beginning of Excess Earnings mythologies and now to the new frontier of forensics and AI. We must thank you and your dedication to NACVA for all these innovations in the field of valuation and all its complexities.
Wish the best to you.
William K. Fowler, CVA, ABAR, MAFF
Qualified Expert Business Valuation Witness in Federal Tax Court
