In Anne’s previous role as Head of Valuation at Investissement Quebec, she laid the foundation of their valuation department and helped strengthen valuation for financial reporting procedures.
She has also been an active member of the CBV Institute’s Education Committee and has also served as a teacher in the CBV Program of Studies. Anne very recently joined Fiera Comox as Vice President, Valuations.
We asked Anne about her journey as a CBV, including her takeaways from the CBV Program of Studies. Here are some of the highlights from our conversation.
How has the CBV designation supported your career development?
My CBV journey started in 2013 when I was working in M&A and looking for some clarity and guidelines to move forward in my career. M&A has a lot to do with negotiations, but before that, you must get involved in business valuation and that’s when I realized the CBV designation could help elevate my career. So began my journey into the world of business valuation. I then joined the KPMG valuation group to make the most of it.
I shared my passion for valuation by coaching students who were enrolled in CBV Institute’s Program of Studies after passing the MQE. I started to quickly undertake more responsibilities with CBV Institute, such as marking exams and becoming an active member of the Education Committee and as a course instructor in 2018.
In the same year, I started working as Head of Valuation at Investissement Quebec and laid the foundation of its valuation department that would oversee a $15 billion portfolio and built a team of valuation professionals to strengthen valuation for financial reporting procedures.
Can you share a particularly challenging yet interesting valuation analysis that made you realize you had chosen the right career path?
The unprecedented market volatility in the initial days of the COVID-19 pandemic posed many challenges for CBVs. I had to report on the value of Investissement Quebec on March 31, 2020. I had plenty of questions on my mind and we had to redo all the valuations that we had prepared in advance.
The CBV community came together to share ideas and methodologies and in a time of great uncertainty, I felt the power of our network. At that exact moment, I knew I had chosen the right career path.
Do you have any tips for people looking to become a CBV?
1. Don’t hesitate to ask for help, get a mentor or a tutor to help you practice because the MQE is quite challenging. Having someone re-read your answers is a must before trying to attempt the MQE.
2. My advice to young CBVs is this: the answer is not always in the books, but going back to basics will always help you find the answers.