Neal Mizrahi has nearly 20 years of experience in business valuation and the quantification of economic loss in complex disputes. He has testified as an expert witness on numerous occasions before courts and arbitral tribunals in Canada and globally. Neal was consistently ranked by Who’s Who Legal as a top expert globally, and more recently, one of two “most highly regarded” experts in Canada. He has taught at the university and professional levels for nearly a decade.
Neal has worked as an expert in various industries, including resource and extractive industries (i.e. oil and gas, and mining and minerals), construction, manufacturing, financial services, cannabis, software, and other sectors.
We asked Neal about his journey as a CBV, including his 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?
I was always interested in business valuation, and after obtaining my accounting designation, I researched additional designations that would enhance my valuation knowledge. I landed on the CBV, as it seemed to have the most practical and comprehensive curriculum, with the least amount of overlap with the CPA and business school.
The CBV opened so many doors and has enabled me to do what I do today. While I value businesses for a variety of purposes, much of what I do is act as an expert in the context of disputes. Put plainly, if one party alleges that another party conducted some wrongful act (for instance a breach of contract), I would be retained as an expert to provide my opinion of the monetary damages, which in many cases is a function of the value of a business. Typically, each party in the dispute would retain an expert, so the ability to conduct a credible and objective analysis, consider other viewpoints, and communicate clearly is paramount.
Overall, the CBV designation played a key role in my career progression; it provided me with the technical skills to be able to analyze and opine on complex valuation issues, and it enabled me to be qualified and recognized by courts and arbitral tribunals as an expert witness.
Can you share a particularly challenging, yet interesting valuation analysis that made you realize you had chosen the right career path?
One case emerges as particularly challenging and rewarding. It involves a dispute in the oil and gas industry in Alberta. I was retained by the buyer in a transaction who had acquired assets relating to a number of oil fields in Alberta, with the objective of developing them further (i.e. finding more oil and increasing the acquired company’s value), and selling it within approximately three years. Once the transaction closed, the buyer realized that the company it acquired had significant compliance issues, which delayed its plans by two years. Ultimately, they did find more oil, but by that point, oil prices declined significantly, and the value of their company was lower than what it would have been when they initially intended to sell (i.e. three years post-acquisition), which also happened to be during a period of peak oil prices.
So, the buyers commenced litigation against the seller, suing for millions of dollars, and I was brought in as a valuation expert to quantify the damages. I quantified the values at different points in time and the resulting “Loss of Opportunity” suffered by the buyers. I testified twice in the Provincial Court of Alberta, where I was cross-examined at length. Ultimately the court accepted my valuation evidence which led to an award of damages of almost $200 million dollars.
A link to the decision is available here.
Do you have any tips for people looking to become a CBV?
1. Experience helps: Try to work in the valuation field while you acquire the designation. The day-to-day work experience really enhances your learning in the CBV Program of Studies. I found that I’d read about a concept in the course materials and apply that knowledge in the same week or month – that really enhanced my learning.
2. Have a mentor and be a mentor: There are immense benefits to both. First, having a mentor that is experienced can help you through the process and your career. Second, being a mentor to others is not only rewarding, but it allows you to pause and reflect on your own experience. I’m grateful to those that have mentored me throughout my career and still have people I look to for guidance.
3. Enjoy the process: Getting into a new field is an exciting time in your career. Sure, it’s challenging, but there’s a ton of development that occurs over that period and a great opportunity to meet new people.