2021 ASA International Conference Wrap-Up

ASA recently held its 84^th annual International Conference on October 24-26, 2021, offering a hybrid format for all disciplines for the first time, [LP1] both in Las Vegas, NV at Planet Hollywood, and online. In keeping the tradition of providing the highest-level of education for appraisal experts, this year’s conference featured more than 75 sessions of the most comprehensive educational programming available taught by preeminent thought-leaders from all appraisal disciplines.

Preceding the conference on October 23, ASA CEO, Johnnie White, joined members for a golf outing, followed by a chapter leadership training that evening. The official 2021 ASA International Conference kicked off Sunday night with a Welcome Reception, which included hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, allowing attendees to get to know one another and network prior to the start of sessions on Monday.

Monday was the first full day of the conference with introductions and welcoming remarks from ASA’s International President David Crick, ASA.

Next, Johnnie White, ASA’s CEO, spoke and then invited Conference Keynote Sponsor, Chad Sandstedt, CFA, Co-Founder and CEO of TagniFi to the stage to introduce keynote speaker, Brian Brinig, ASA

 Brian then discussed: “Mastering Self Discipline”.

 Following the keynote presentation, attendees  adjourned to the appropriate specialized educational track they chose.

The first educational sessions of the day included Valuation and Other Considerations Due to COVID: Past, Present & Future with Kenneth Pia, ASA, Arlene Ashcraft, ASA, Jay Fishman, FASA, and Matthew Crow, ASA; What’s Hot/ What’s Not in Equipment Leasing and Finance for 2021 by Carl Chrappa, ASA; Las Vegas: A Cultural Oasis by Michele Quinn; Mock Trial presented by Jeffrey Brend, JD, CPA/ABV, ASA, Craig Capilla, Mark Munizzo, ASA, Genice Lee, ASA, Meighan Harmon, and Teri Brossmer, ASA; and Dark Store & Fee Simple Estate by Barry Cunningham.

Following the first networking break, while the Mock Trial and Dark Store & Fee Simple Estate presentations continued, the next round of sessions included: New Data Source for Valuing Privately Held Promissory Notes by Bruce Johnson, ASA; Equity and Financial Metrics Volatility for Earnouts by Vincent Covrig and Kellie Adkins, ASA; Extrusion Industry Equipment by Kenneth Heyse, ASA and Gary Anderson; and From Landfall to Black Rock: A Master Printer’s Story of Change in Print Making and Marketing presented by Steven Campbell.

The afternoon got under way with ASA’s Annual International Awards Luncheon Awards Luncheon sponsored by Titus Alliance. ASA International President David Crick presented the following awards:

ASA’s Chapter Member of the Year Award was given to Ellen Epstein, ASA. The Chapter of the Year Award was presented to the NorCal Chapter and both the Chapter Education Event Award and The Chapter Outreach Program was designated for the Houston Chapter.

Next Crick presented the Rising Star Award winners: Tom Keesey, Hannah Simmler, Abigail Athanasopoulos, Kathryn (Kathy) A. Duckworth, Ryan Kinahan, and Derek Wong.

Following that, Crick announced that the Board of Examiners recognized John Mathe, ASA, for the Examiner of the Year Award.

The NAIFA award winners were then announced. The NAIFA Paul Wetzel Award was given to Charles Wallis, IFAC, ASA; and the NAIFA Educator of the Year Award to Margaret Orman, IFA.

During a brief break in the Awards Luncheon, a special video played featuring Shannon Pratt, CFA, FASA, ARM, the original author of Valuing a Business, where he spoke about the new 6^th edition that is available now for pre-sale. Pratt spoke about this authoritative text and highlighted the authors and contributors who helped make the newest edition get published. The video and VAB6 promotional items presented at the conference were graciously provided by Mercer Capital.

The awards then continued with The Jerry Larkins Volunteer Service Award given to Bill Engel, ASA; and The Sylvia Wade Olson Award of Merit went to ASA’s Susannah Coleman.

Next, the Appraisers of the Year awards went to: Carol Akers Klug and Jack Young.

Following the awards presentation, Crick recognized the current past ASA president Lorrie Beaumont and the Board of Governors.

After lunch, sessions touched on topics of: Debt Valuation by Adam Newman and Bethany Harms; A Discussion: Whether or Not to Include ESOP-Specific Tax Benefits in Valuation with Corley Thomas, ASA; What to Look for When Appraising Printing Assets with Joseph Karavos; Online Auctions During and After the COVID-19 Era by Phil Michaelson; as well as the Effect of Solar Systems on Home Values presented by Terry Taylor, ASA.

The conference also included presentations on: Anatomy of a Deal Gone Bad delivered with Vanessa Claiborne, ASA and Nene Gianfala, ASA; Master Class in Cost of Capital Inputs with Todd Fries, ASA and Roger Grabowski, FASA; Growing Your Appraisal Business by Joseph Santora, ASA; Changes to the Auction Market: The Perspective from Two Auction Houses by Joe Baratta and Nancy Zander; Native American Jewelry with Courtney Elkins; Trends in Real Estate Centered Businesses & Going Concern Properties with Robert Schlegel, FASA and William Wilson, FASA; and Pros and Cons: Rollover Equity, Sellers Note or Earnout? Presented by Jonathan Tang, ASA.

Hugging the last breaks of the day, where attendees continued to network and visit a variety of exhibitor booths, there were the afternoon sessions consisting of: Monte Carlo: When and Why It Should Be Used with Aarti Karande; What’s Behind Your Curtain #3? – A Conversation About Compliance headed up by Paul Cogley, ASA; Problematic Issues in Review Reports presented by Melanie Modica, ASA; Snapshot: A Gallerist’s Perspective on the Black Contemporary Photography Market by Arnika Dawkins; The Authentication Trap with Gina D’Onofrio, ASA; and Desktop Appraisals with Robbie Wilson.

Our presentations of the day concluded with J. Mark Penny, ASA and Jack Young, ASA giving the How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the USPAP presentation; Challenges in Common Stock Valuation When Approaching a SPAC Transaction with Amanda Miller and Thomas Frantzeskakis; Pulp & Paper – A Case Study on ACV by Asher Cohen, ASA and Joshua Abbey, ASA; Competing Appraisals in Litigation with Edward Kainen; Business Valuation 101 presented by Carla Glass, FASA and Marissa Pepe Turrell, ASA; What’s Behind the Curtain? Transparency and Regulation in the Art Market with Nicholas O’Donnell.

After a day full of networking and impressive educational productions, day 1 of 2021 ASA International Conference came to end with the Rising Stars exclusive happy hour sponsored by Borrowman Baker, LLC and Jade for Gemologists discussion led by Richard Hughes and Billie Hughes, streaming live from Bangkok.

Moving on to the final day of the 2021 ASA International Conference, educational sessions began immediately after the Continental Breakfast, namely: What’s New That Appraisers Doing Business Valuations for Federal Tax Purposes Need to Know with Mike Gregory, ASA; Fair Value Measurement of Illiquid Cryptocurrencies & Digital Assets presented by Joshua Lefcowitz, ASA and Joseph Brennan; The Pandemic and Its Valuation Impacts on Food Processing and Service Equipment with Joseph Joyce, ASA; Case Study: A Philadelphia Story – Fair Market Value of an Important 1849 Mirror with Susan Golashovsky, FASA; Update on the Gaming Industry led by Ray Moran, ASA, Brian Holloway, Scott Kellenberger, ASA, Joe Tinucci, and Jack Behrens;  and Cannabis: the Business, the Equipment, the Real Estate—Bringing it all Together featuring Vanita Spaulding, ASA, Andrew Lines, and Michael Peterson.

The morning sessions also included: Patent Valuation: Moving Beyond Relief-from-Royalty with Brian Dies, ASA; The Impact of Covid 19 and the Energy Transition on Energy Company Valuations with Tim Stuhlreyer, ASA; Demystifying Insurance Appraisals presented by Austin Engelhardt, ASA; How Do You Know It’s Real? With Stuart Lutz; Provenance and Origin the Influence on Value by Duncan Parker; and concluding with Future of Impairments presented by Micheal Lohmeier, PJ Patel, ASA, and John Marcus, ASA.

Following the all-discipline network break, we had: Does the Size Premium Exist Outside of the U.S.? with Carla Nunes, CFA, Jim Harrington, and Jan Marek, ASA; Reading Purchase Agreements 101 with Kathy Nalepka and Ian Long; USPAP Analysis Requirements for Desktop Appraisals, Oral Reports, and Restricted Appraisal Reports head up by R. Lee Robinette, ASA; Is an Obituary a Boon or Death Knell for Value with Terri Cohn, Dean Sobel, and Kathy Andrews, ASA; Gems & Jewelry Committee Town Hall Meeting; and then Complex Valuation by Randall Bell.

Next we had The Valuation of Inventory presented by Anna Mazover and Margaret Ross; Appraising Power Generation Assets for Property Tax with Fernando Sosa, ASA; and How About a New ARM? Led by Melanie Modica, ASA and Jack Young, ASA.

As the day approached lunchtime, our business valuation group branched off to their exclusive luncheon, as all other attendees were able to grab a bite and continued networking and checking out our exhibitor and sponsor tables.

Afternoon sessions started with: Valuing Cannabis 2.0 with Ron Seigneur, ASA and Nick Parseghian, ASA; Valuation Issues in Shareholder Disputes with Karl Schwabauer; High Tech Assets – A Practical Guide for No/Low Tech Appraisers with Alex Steele, ASA; Telling Untold Stories: Appraising African American Art and Historic Collections with Genice Lee, ASA and Dianne Dinkins Carr, ASA; Adventures in Solid Geometry – Getting the Most Out of Your Gemstone Weight Estimation Formulas with Charles Carmona, ASA; Conservation Easements with Ernie Demba, FASA, Richard Gilmore, FASA, and William Wilson, FASA; How are the Standard of Value, Premise of Value and Methodology Impacted by the Intended Use with Jay Fishman, FASA.

Our next group of sessions included: Valuation of General Partner Interests in VC and PE Funds with Antonella Puca and Andrew Proctor; ERP and Risk-Free Rate in the Eurozone, U.K. and Canada discussion led by Carla Nunes, CFA, and Jim Harrington; Emerging Technology Trends in Agricultural Equipment and Impact on Secondary Market Values with Anthony Gordon, ASA; Demystifying NFTS and Cryptocurrencies with Nanne Dekking; Victorian Jewelry with Duncan Parker; Going Concern by Ernie Demba, FASA; and Five Recent Appraisal Professional Liability Claims featuring Peter Christensen.

During the break, attendees continued to network with one another while participating in ASA’s annual Educational Foundation auction. In lieu of the traditional live auction, the ASA Educational Foundation had launched its second virtual auction  offering both in person and virtual attendees to take advantage of bidding simultaneously. This event offered a fresh and innovative experience with 30 unique items being donated. Participants enjoyed bidding both from the comfort of their home or live in Vegas, while supporting a great cause.

Following the final break of the day, the 2021 ASA International Conference closed with sessions including: Valuing Tech Companies: Adjusting Financial Statements for the Value Driver Formula presented by Joseph Thompson, ASA and David Neuzil; Turning Trophies Into Treasure: The Valuation of Sports Businesses with Drew Dorweiler, ASA; Drone and Digital Surveys for Equipment Appraisals with Harry Ward; Catching Up with the IRS presented by Karin Gross and Robin Bonner; and finally, Risk Management – Insurance & Engagement Letters led by Sheri Thome.

Though this year looked different than the past, with a lot of moving parts putting together this hybrid event, everyone pulled together to create a memorable experience and forward-thinking discussions that won’t be forgotten by attendees.

ASA would like to thank the conference sponsors and exhibitors: Platinum: TagniFi; Gold: SunCorp Valuations; Silver: Borrowman Baker LLC, Duff & Phelps: A Kroll Business, Business Valuation Resources,  Knowcraft Analytics, and VRef; Bronze: Titus Alliance, Equipment Appraisal Group, and Valcre.

We would also like to thank our supporting sponsors & exhibitors: Mynarski International Valuation, IAAO, BuckheadFMV, National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA), the Appraisal Institute, Primus PVX, and ASA’s Houston Chapter; as well as our media partners: Business Valuation Review, the ARM e-Journal, MTS e-Journal, and the RP e-Journal.

ASA extends another thank you to the planning committee and advisors for all of their hard work and support, International Conference Chair David Crick, ASA; Terri Lastovka, ASA; Mark Cartwright, ASA; William M. Engel, ASA; Jamie Allen, ASA; Lynn Magnusson, ASA; Larry Golicz, ASA; Laurie-Leigh White, ASA; Kellie Adkins, ASA; Ken Pia, ASA; Jon Tang, ASA; and Jeff Tarbell, ASA.

Lastly, a thank you to everyone who participated; for making this year’s conference as fun, educational, and successful as it was.

To see photos of the 2021 ASA International Conference, click here.

 

Save the Date! Make plans to attend the 2022 ASA International Conference September 11-13, 2022 – Fort Lauderdale Marriott Harbor Beach Resort & Spa.