Business valuation is a worldwide phenomenon. As an industry, it may not have the history…
By John Borrowman, CPC
Borrowman Baker, LLC, BV Staffing + Consulting
Gallatin, TN
Over the last several years, business valuation coursework has established a foothold within finance curricula at the university level. Now comes a different approach that takes BV education to an entirely new level.
Beginning with the 2012-2013 academic year, the Owen Graduate School of Management at Vanderbilt University is offering a MAcc Valuation degree. The MAcc Valuation program leverages the “4 + 1” model of the successful MAcc program which has operated for several years under the guidance of Faculty Director Karl Hackenbrack, Associate Professor of Accounting.
One of the key elements of that model is the involvement of “partner firms” Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Representatives of these firms not only sit on an Advisory Board with input to the MAcc Val program, but are actively involved in recruiting its graduates.
The MAcc Val curriculum leans heavily to Fair Value, largely because program grads tend to be headed to practices inside CPA firms. About 90% of the students entering the program are typically coming right out of an undergrad education. The additional year of business valuation education produces a potential employee who has another year of skills development, is more solidly focused on a BV career, and is a more mature – and, overall, more attractive – person to hire.
The MAcc program includes not only paid internship opportunities, but is structured to encourage students to sit for the CPA Exam and/or CFA Levels I and II.
More information on the MAcc Valuation program is on the Owen Graduate School of Management website.
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