VALUATION CAREER HIGHLIGHTS

What's perhaps most compelling to many about valuation services is the prospect of making a real impact in a particular industry. You may want to focus on media and entertainment, landing in Los Angeles or New York where valuations for music and movie rights and licensing are essential. There are military and intelligence valuation implications in aerospace and defense, and healthcare is surely one of the field's largest sectors today with its complexities for providers or in life sciences with development of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. Oil and gas present numerous chances for valuing assets as oil prices continue their flux and change. Valuation offers a career that lets you choose a particular industry of emphasis or enjoy working in many industries, depending upon your specific goals.

Consider these examples from valuation services careers:

A corporation is making an acquisition and needs help understanding the worth of the company to be purchased and its various assets are worth and how the acquisition might affect earnings per share. You may be part of a team working with the firm's due diligence or transaction advisory services professionals to conduct accretion and dilution analysis. Post-acquisition, valuation services can be critical to backend integration and, ultimately, impairment if the acquisition becomes troubled.

Perhaps a company plans to divest a non-core business operation, and it becomes important to determine tax valuation. Conducting research and analysis to determine the gain or loss on the sale of assets rests with the valuation team.

Sometimes, a one-of-a-kind opportunity emerges. In media and entertainment, for example, professionals in this service line can be called upon to value popular television programs, feature-length films and an artist's publishing rights or even to determine what a deceased celebrity's estate is worth today. One of the Vanderbilt MAcc program's Advisory Board members once served as an expert witness for the estate of sixties rock legend Jimi Hendrix, where litigation, taxation and estate tax valuations played a key role in the Hendrix family's case for more than a decade.

Are You a Good Fit for This Profession?

Valuation services are not for everyone. The works tends to be high-energy, action-packed and ever-changing. You might be working on different aspects for multiple companies in varied settings and industries every day, so there's tremendous variety and little chance for monotony. Sure, you'll rely on proven analytical skills and your abilities and interests in manipulating models. But remember that client service is a key part of the role. As you advance with the firm, you'll be presenting the firm's brand to the client, and you'll find yourself interacting with a host of people with different backgrounds ranging from those in accounts payable up to the CEO. Understanding the complexity of human interaction and approaching it with confidence and integrity is critical to success in valuation services. The firm's clients rely on professionals they can trust.

Valuation professionals often are on the cutting edge with companies as they go through significant events in their history. By working in this profession, you're often part of the team when something big is going on—and with global firms, you may be reading about your work in the day's headlines. It can be a wild ride with unpredictable schedules and fast-paced time frames, but if you're seeking excitement and impact, it may be the perfect profession for you. With unparalleled access to career opportunities with one of our partner firms—Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC—Vanderbilt's one-year program will help you hone the accounting, finance and client service skills that this exciting career demands.