2018 ASA Advanced Business Valuation Conference Recap

The American Society of Appraisers recently held its annual Advanced Business Valuation Conference on October 7-10, 2018 in Anaheim, California at the Hilton-Anaheim.

This conference presented the most comprehensive Business Valuation educational programming available, taught by the world’s top Business Valuation professionals. This three-day event offered attendees more than 30 highly focused educational sessions in areas of business valuation, fair value and a variety of specialized topics.

The 2018 Advanced BV Conference was held in conjunction with ASA’s 2018 International Appraisers Conference, allowing a unique opportunity for attendees to expand their global professional network and interact with attendees and exhibitors. The conference kicked off Sunday night at the Welcome Reception giving attendees the opportunity to mingle and network with one another.

Monday was the first full day of the conference with introductions and welcoming remarks from Lee Hackett, ASA’s Interim Chief Executive Officer. Next, Robert B. Morrison, ASA’s International President, spoke and then introduced the joint conferences planning committee members, including the following ASA Advanced Business Valuation Conference members: Ray Rath, ASA (Chair), Mike Eggers, ASA, Bill Johnston, ASA, Ron Seigneur, ASA, Adam Smith, ASA, and Richard Wise, FASA.

Immediately after was the keynote presentation by Valerie Oberle, President, The Oberle Group, who talked about the key factors for business success. Following the keynote presentation, attendees adjourned to the appropriate specialized educational session they chose.

Breakout sessions followed the keynote and included topics such as Growth Rate Estimation by Ashok B. Abbott, Ph.D. and Roger J. Grabowski, FASA; Is That a Business or Real Estate? by Paul Hyde, ASA, MAI; The Search for Reasonable Compensation: Follow the Yellow Brick Road by Kevin Yeanoplos, ASA, CPA/ABV/CFF; ESOP Valuations – Fair Market Value or Fair Market Value? by Kenneth J. Pia, Jr., ASA, CPA, ABV, MCBA and Jeffrey S. Tarbell, ASA, CFA; and Estimating Volatility by Ellen Kilpatrick, MBA, MFE.

The annual membership meeting and International Awards Presentation followed these educational sessions. At the start of the Awards Presentation, 2018-19 International President Bob Morrison introduced the following distinguished guests from various allied appraisal organizations from around the globe: The Appraisal Institute of Canada: Peter McLean, President, Keith Lancastle, CEO; The Canadian National Association of Real Estate Appraisers: James Carty, President, Robert MacDonald, CEO; The Appraisal Institute: Stephen Wagner, President-Elect; The Appraisal Foundation: David Bunton, President; International Institute of Business Valuers: Ray Moran, Chair of iiBV Marketing Committee; The Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuers: Mary Jane Andrews, President & CEO; The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors: Peter Smith, Chair of RICS Americas Board, Neil Shah, Regional Managing Director, RICS Americas, Steve Choi, International Director of Business Valuation; The Forensic Expert Witness Association: Kerri Merrifield, Chapter Director; The Saudi Authority for Accredited Valuers (TAQEEM): Sultan Jorais Mohammed Aljorais, Secretary General, Muath Ahmed Alkhalaf, Professional Development Expert, Anfal Omar Alomar, Digital Solutions Manager, Alhanouf Talal Alabood Alotaibi, Localization & Translation Specialist, Abdulaziz Abdullah Abdulaziz Al Hajeri, Customer Services Assistant; The Japanese Society of Independent Appraisers: Kazuo Wakayama: and representatives from: E & Y Japan; Sanyu Systems Appraisers; Daiwa Real Property Appraisal; Gordon Brothers Japan; EnviPro Holding; Tanizawa Sogo Appraisal and other independent appraisal firms.

Next, Bob Morrison introduced the 2018-19 ASA Board of Governors: International Vice President: Doug Krieser; International Secretary/Treasurer: Lorrie Beaumont; International Past President: Sharon Desfor; Region 1 Governor: Gary Snowden; Region 2 Governor: Adrian Gonzalez Jr.; Region 3 Governor: Mark Sandler; Region 4 Governor: Rob Metcalf Jr.; Region 5 Governor: Garrett Schwartz; Business Valuation Governors: Bruce Johnson and Chris Rosenthal; Gems & Jewelry Governors: Martin Fuller and Mary Reich; Machinery & Technical Specialties Governors: David Crick and John Mathe; Personal Property Governors: Charles Rosoff and Tom Simatos; Real Property Governors: Ray Krasinski and Mike Orman; Parliamentarian: Richard Hause; and CEO (Interim): Lee Hackett.

During the Awards Presentation, 2018-19 International President Bob Morrison recognized the following ASA members, volunteers, chapters and staff for their achievements.

ASA members Susan Golashovsky, FASA and Sandra J. Tropper, FASA were inducted into the College of Fellows. The Rising Stars Award was given to: Nicolas Ballian, Nicholas J. Janiga, ASA, Fawntel L. Romero, ASA, Timothy Roy, ASA, Megan Salehli, ASA and Shane Weber, ASA, IFA. The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Barry Alperin, ASA and Noël Burndahl, ASA. ASA’s Examiner of the Year Award was given to Karen Milan, ASA. The Sylvia Wade Olson Award was awarded to Jennifer Aguilar. The Jerry F. Larkins Award recipient was Noël Burndahl, ASA.

ASA’s Chapter Member of the Year Award was given to Sumeet Sahnan. The Chapter Education Event Award was designated for the Houston Chapter and the Outreach Program Award and the Chapter of the Year Award to the Chicago Chapter. The Appraiser of the Year Award was awarded to David Doering, ASA/IFA. The Real Property Educator of the Year Award and The Paul A. Wetzel Award were given to Mike Orman, ASA/IFAS.

Following the awards presentation, Morrison recognized the past presidents at the event: NAIFA past president Robert Luciani and ASA past president Sharon Desfor.

Up next were the following afternoon breakout sessions: Same Facts, Different Answers by William A. Johnston, ASA-IA, PJ Patel ASA, CFA; Adam Smith, ASA and Mark L. Zyla, ASA, CPA/ABV, CFA; Cannabis Industry Valuation: Possibly the Ultimate Challenge for Appraisers by Ronald L. Seigneur, ASA, CPA/ABV, CFF, CGMA.; Understanding Tranched Preferred: What is the Value of the Right or Obligation to Buy More Shares? How Does That Impact My Common Stock Value? by Amanda A. Miller, Ph.D.; and Cost of Capital Update – Impact of Tax Cuts and Jobs Act by Roger J. Grabowski, FASA.

Monday evening was the President’s Networking Reception & Educational Foundation Silent Auction. The silent auction was a huge success. The auction and President’s Networking Reception concluded the first full day of the conference.

Tuesday began early with a second keynote presentation by Rod P. Bukert, CPA/ABV, CVA on Is Your Practice Working for you? Breakout sessions followed with presentations Michael Crain, CPA/ABV, CFA, CFE on The Essentials of International Cost of Capital; and Thomas Hilton, MS, CPA/ABV/CFF, CVA, CGMA on The Art of Persuasion: Aristotle’s Rhetoric and the 21st Century Testifying Expert; and Fair Value Auditor Panel: CEIV and Other Topic Updates with Anthony Aaron, FASA, CFA, FRICS, Anthony Alfonso, Austin Lee, Leigh S. Miller, Adam Smith, ASA and Michael Tully.

Next were discussions focusing on: A Comparative Study of Mandatory Valuation Procedures in China and the States by Siu Yu Nova Chan, HKICPA, FCCA, FRICS, CPV; Active Passive Appreciation-Current Update with Ashok B. Abbott, Ph.D., Bill Dameworth, CPA, ABV, CFF, CVA, MAFF, Jay E. Fishman, FASA, FRICS and Z. Christopher Mercer, FASA, CFA, ABAR; PE/VC Valuation Guide with David L. Larsen, CPA/ABV/CEIV and Amanda A. Miller, Ph.D.; iBank Valuation Process: Let’s Make a Deal by Garett Poston; Economic Abuse and Dissipation of Assets in Divorce with Nancy Zalusky Berg, J.D. and Ronald L. Seigneur, ASA, CPA/ABV, CFF, CGMA; Tales from the Trenches: Challenges and Benefits of Implementing the MPF by Justin Pogge, CPA/ABV, CEIV; The Use of Management’s Prospective Financial Information by a Valuation Specialist by Mark L. Zyla, ASA, CPA/ABV, CFA; Five Easy (?) Pieces: Allocating Personal and Professional Goodwill with Mark Dietrich, CPA/ABV and Kevin Yeanoplos, ASA, CPA/ABV/CFF; Tax Reform in Business Valuation by William Frazier, ASA; The Anatomy of a Deal: Understanding Common Terms in M&A Transactions by Shannon Sibold; and AICPA Business Combination Guide by Gary Roland, CFA, CPA/ABV/CEIV.

Tuesday evening included a Women’s Networking Reception and ASA Rising Stars Happy Hour for ASA’s age 40 and under. These receptions gave attendees the opportunity to meet and network with prominent women across all of ASA’s appraisal disciplines as well as rising professionals in the appraisal industry.

Wednesday was the last day of conference and included 8 educational sessions taught by experts in the field. Topics of discussions included The Duff & Phelps Cost of Capital Navigator – The New Online Resource for Estimating the Cost of Capital by James Harrington; Accounting Update: New Revenue and Lease Accounting Standards by Adam Smith, ASA; Trends in Life Sciences by Poonum Bhagchandani, CPA, CBV; Intellectual Property Case Updates by Michael Haghighat, ASA; Franchise Restaurant Valuations by Scott Roehr, ASA, CPA/ABV/CFF, CFA; Hot Topics in the Valuation of Contingent Consideration by Gary Raichart and Lynne Weber; EBITDA Single Period Income Capitalization for Business Valuation by Z. Christopher Mercer, FASA, CFA, ABAR; and Machine Learning: Overview and Valuation Use Case by Chandu Chilakapati.

Those unable to attend the conference in person were able to sign up and view key sessions from the conference via live streaming online.

ASA hosted a series of educational courses in Anaheim prior or concurrently with IAC2018. The given courses were: BV201-OOO – Introduction to Business Valuation, Market Approach; BV203-OOO – Introduction to Business Valuation, Asset Approach, Discounts & Premiums; BV301-OOO – Valuation of Intangible Assets; AR201-OOO – Appraisal Review and Management Overview; and ME201-OOO – Introduction to Machinery and Equipment Valuation.

The American Society of Appraisers would like to thank: Platinum Sponsors: HeliValue$, Inc.; Morrison Valuation & Forensic Services, LLC; Taqeem – Saudi Authority for Accreditation Valuers; Silver Sponsors: Business Valuation Resources; Sweeny & Bartlett Marketing Partners, Inc.; Kersten’s Antiques; Media Partners: BV Review; The MTS Journal; Exhibitors: Borrowman Baker, LLC; RCReports; TagniFi; Duff&Phelps; Veristrat; and ASA PAC.

ASA would also like to thank the conference planning committee for all of their hard work and support: Advanced BV Conference Chair Raymond D. Rath, ASA, CEIV; Michael J. Eggers ASA; William A. Johnston, ASA; Ronald L. Seigneur, ASA; Adam M. Smith, ASA; Richard M. Wise, FASA, MNP, LLP.

Save the Date! Make plans to attend the 2019 Advanced Business Valuation Conference in New York, NY on August 25-28, 2019.