Live from NACVA: Appraisal review can improve work product…and create new business opportunities

“The first time one of my reports went through review, I called the office and said ‘stop the presses’ on other reports going through,” laughed Aaron Caya (Director of Doreen Mayhew’s Litigation Support & Forensic Services Group, caya@doreen.com).  “You can always improve the quality of your own work product. “

But, learning to provide review services can also be a major business development benefit, too.  Caya mentioned engagements like:

• Assisting counsel with Daubert challenges
• Providing stakeholders with independent opinions of their expert’s work product
• Assisting triers of fact with reconciliation of divergent valuation conclusions
• Possibly defending against penalties under the new IRC 6695A

Caya recommends the IBA “ABAR” (Accredited in Business Appraisal Review) certification, including the IBA Practice Aid on this subject.  He also points out that a lot of senior appraisers who have tired of “grinding out the work” have found a great outlet for the later stages of their careers via appraisal review.

Further note:  ABAR reviews are private, though as one attendee commented “reviews can always come out in court once they’ve been placed in evidence.“  There was some debate about whether review reports should be submitted to malpractice carriers, but there’s no part of the review process itself that isn’t private.