CEO's Message—First Quarter 2018

NCCA Accreditation—Enormously Powerful for You

I recently finished NACVA’s reapplication with the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA), a division of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence (ICE). You see, we must reapply for the NCCA accreditation of our Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) credential every five years, as if it was our first time. NACVA’s CVA has carried this accreditation for ten years.

The reason this is so important to us, and should be to you, is the NCCA accreditation proves to the world the CVA credential meets the highest standards on the globe for integrity, objectivity, quality, and complies with a world-wide recognized set of standards. We have obtained this accreditation for all the same reasons our CVAs have obtained the CVA. Your CVA is a statement to the world you have proven to an independent body that you meet a certain level of expertise, are qualified to provide a specialized service, and comply with industry recognized standards in the performance of your work. Given this, does it not make sense for you to expect the organization accrediting you to also be accredited?

NCCA has set a very high bar for organizations who want their accreditation, with rigorous standards that address every aspect of an organization’s policies, procedures, systems, controls, and processes centering around the examination, but run the gamut of operations. It all starts with a psychometrically developed and validated body of knowledge, exam, and grading process, and expands to address every single detail of operations from security measures, to pass/fail written communications, to marketing materials, to public notices, to job descriptions. Transparency underscores the whole process. There is so much to it, it is difficult to help you fully appreciate the extreme measures an organization must go through, what we go through, to conform with NCCA standards.

One thing that can help you appreciate NACVA’s level of accomplishment is to look at NCCA’s website (http://www.credentialingexcellence.org/) to see just who the members are of its mothership, ICE, and how few of them have actually obtained the accreditation of ICE’s accrediting arm, NCCA. You will be surprised. The bottom line is very few organizations and their credentials can comply with NCCA’s rigorous standards. It is too tall of a reach for most, and for them that means everything surrounding their credential is loosely defined. The question I always ask, is defined by whom?

NACVA’s CVA is very well defined and without question, it is the most solid, most credible, most substantive business valuation (BV) credential in existence.

All CVAs should share in the pride I have for our CVA credential, and capitalize on the fact “NACVA’s CVA credential is the only valuation credential accredited by the National Commission for Certifying Agencies, a division of the Institute for Credentialing Excellence.”

You need to boast about this because it is what sets you apart. I do predict there will come a time when the CVA is the one and only BV credential in existence. We are strong and we are growing stronger daily.

I want to thank the eighty plus members of both the Valuation Credentialing Board and various Subject Matter Expert Task Forces who have helped me over the last two years preparing our NCCA application. Also, I wish to express my appreciation to Janice Moore, our NCCA consultant, for the hundreds of hours she has put into this. NACVA’s NCCA application is due January 31, 2018.  

Parnell Black, MBA, CPA, CVA

Chief Executive Officer