CEO's Message—Second Quarter 2018
CEO's Message—The Secret Sauce
Parnell Black, MBA, CPA, CVA
Chief Executive Officer
This year marks 27 years since NACVA’s inception, and what we have accomplished, in mine and many others’ opinion, is quite remarkable. Every year we reach new milestones, not just one or two, but many. It is important to note that I do not measure milestones in dollars or number of members, I measure it in terms of accomplishments, as I define them. And I would know because I know what goes into an endeavor that results in a milestone—in other words, I see behind the scenes. What many members do not realize is to achieve anything we set forth for ourselves relies heavily on the support of our members and the individuals that step up to the plate when needed or called upon.
If you own or run a business you can understand when I say, “just about every policy, inspiration, and success we have had at NACVA HQ has a person’s name behind it.” Many employees have left an indelible footprint in our path of successes. And some have left their mark in other ways; 27 years ago, our Policies and Procedures Manual was five pages long; now it is 50 pages. But when it comes to our accomplishments, every single one since our inception has a member’s or members’ name behind it. I could even tell you who it was that suggested we offer a credential—the Certified Valuation Analyst® (CVA®).
I wish there was a way to give proper credit to the hundreds of members who have been so instrumental along the way; that is not easy to do. But be it known, I hold every one of them near and dear to my heart because our members are NACVA’s Secret Sauce.
In just the last year alone, here are some of our accomplishments and milestones:
If you own or run a business you can understand when I say, “just about every policy, inspiration, and success we have had at NACVA HQ has a person’s name behind it.” Many employees have left an indelible footprint in our path of successes. And some have left their mark in other ways; 27 years ago, our Policies and Procedures Manual was five pages long; now it is 50 pages. But when it comes to our accomplishments, every single one since our inception has a member’s or members’ name behind it. I could even tell you who it was that suggested we offer a credential—the Certified Valuation Analyst® (CVA®).
I wish there was a way to give proper credit to the hundreds of members who have been so instrumental along the way; that is not easy to do. But be it known, I hold every one of them near and dear to my heart because our members are NACVA’s Secret Sauce.
In just the last year alone, here are some of our accomplishments and milestones:
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Every five years NACVA must re-apply for the National Commission of Certifying Agencies’® (NCCA®) accreditation of our CVA credential. This is a massive undertaking and requires literally hundreds of hours of work on many people’s part, including staff at HQ, our NCCA consultant—Janice Moore, and our Valuation Credentialing Board which was chaired last year by T.J. Liles-Tims. Our application was submitted in January and we just received formal notice that our CVA credential has been re-accredited with the NCCA. This means the CVA credential will have received 15 years of accreditation from this prestigious body, an accolade no other business valuation credential can boast, and something that defines a key distinction between the CVA and the ABV or ASA designations.
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Creation of the first ever International Business Valuation Standards Comparison Chart, which highlights distinctions between NACVA’s standards and IVSC (international), RICS (Europe), and CICBV (Canada). We have already produced a similar document for the U.S. comparing NACVA, AICPA, ASA, IBA, and USPAP standards. These documents were a team effort by our Standards Committee (now a Board), but I must acknowledge and thank Mark Kucik, Mark Hanson, Carl Steffen, and Zach Meyers for spearheading these initiatives because it was with their persistent and determined leadership that these charts were prepared and completed.
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Creation of the first ever Comprehensive Financial Forensics Body of Knowledge (BOK), which is a critical document for establishing our leadership in the field, and guiding the industry forward with training and exam development; all of which are critical underpinnings for our Master Analyst in Financial Forensics® (MAFF®) credential. This is not to say we have been running blind without a BOK, but the new BOK is significantly more comprehensive and incorporates within it all the sub-specialty areas that fall under the financial forensics umbrella. The document is in its final stages of refining, polishing, and obtaining necessary Board approvals, and is slated for release in early July, 2018. Many people have contributed to this document over many years, but I can unequivocally say it is Michael G. Kaplan who has brought it all together and deserves special acknowledgement and my deep appreciation.
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NACVA HQ has been a leader in the training and associations industries in adopting and developing new technologies for both internal and external purposes. In the last year alone we have implemented the ICohere Learning Management Software (LMS) to facilitate development of training in academia and online self-study for our members. This summer we will roll-out with a self-study course entitled, The Four Pillars of Healthcare Valuation. We also implemented, internally, software for project and communication management known as Asana. Our annual Conference was planned and coordinated using this tool. And soon we will roll out with a phone app. We hope to get this app on all our member’s phones within two years giving us a simpler and more convenient way to communicate: announcements and delivering reminders, publications, CPE On-Demand, and training/conference materials (and we promise not to use it for marketing purposes). We will be using the phone app to deliver Conference materials to attendees at our Annual Conference in Las Vegas, June 19–22, 2018.
I will add, the inspiration to be more forward thinking on the technology front has come from NACVA’s Executive Advisory Board (EAB) and in particular, its most recent Chair, Rebekah Smith, who just completed her second three-year term on the EAB and her second nomination as its Chair. We all owe her special thanks for all she has done for me, this Association, and for our membership.
- Last year we rolled out with a new product and training known as CoreValue Software. I want all of you to know, I have been waiting my entire career for something like this to come along, and have told many people that if the CoreValue Software existed when I was a practicing CPA, I may have never endeavored to start NACVA. That is because the software provides a systematic way to size up a business enterprise and lay out a game plan (roadmap) for going forward with constructive and meaningful consulting services designed to enhance and improve company value with a report that shows measurable and demonstrable results. I know it sounds pretty fantastic, but it is true. Every day another business consultant is discovering the incredible potential of this very unique software. CoreValue is one of our exhibitors at the Las Vegas Conference in June, where they will also be offering a two-day training on the software and business consulting services. The course will be taught by George Sandmann—CEO of CoreValue, Dave Fein—CEO of ValuSource Software, and Ed Wandtke—managing director of Wandtke & Associates, Inc. Ed is a longtime NACVA member and CoreValue Software power user. He is also the member who planted the seed in my ear in a voicemail that said something to the effect, “Parnell, I have discovered a new software that you absolutely need to check out. It’s called CoreValue, and it has completely transformed my consulting practice. Our members will love it.”
Parnell Black, MBA, CPA, CVA
Chief Executive Officer
