Travis Fonderson is an Associate at Cohen Hamilton Steger & Co. where he specializes exclusively in the areas of business valuations, quantification of economic damages and forensic accounting investigations.
Travis is a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV) and Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA). He also holds a Master of Accounting degree (MAcc) from the University of Waterloo.
In his role at CHS, Travis provides litigation support services on a wide array of financial matters and assists in preparing expert reports for complex disputes. Prior to joining CHS, Travis was a Senior Associate at a Big 4 public accounting firm where he provided auditing and assurance services for the financial services industry, including several of Canada’s leading banking, investment and insurance organizations.
Outside of Travis’ professional appointments, he is the Founder of Young Funds Program, an organization dedicated to educating young individuals on the basics of personal investing.
How has the CBV Program supported your career development?
The CBV designation has supported my career development in several meaningful ways. Most notably, it has significantly expanded my technical skill set, skills I hadn’t anticipated acquiring when I first began my post-secondary education. At that time, my focus was solely on obtaining the CPA designation, and I wasn’t even aware of the world of business valuation. Pursuing the CBV opened a new realm of knowledge and expertise that I hadn’t previously considered.
Secondly, the designation has helped me stand out in the highly competitive market of CPAs, both in Canada and globally. Within the broader financial community, CBVs are recognized as subject matter experts in valuation, known for their depth of knowledge and specialized training.
Earning this designation has given me access to a respected professional community and enhanced my credibility in valuation matters.
In my current role, I specialize in litigation support, which involves financial analysis in the context of legal disputes – often adversarial situations. In this space, the CBV designation has been invaluable. It has reinforced the importance of objectivity, analytical balance, and fact-based reasoning. It’s also sharpened my ability to challenge my own assumptions by considering how an opposing party might critique my analysis.
This mindset is essential not just in litigation, but in any professional setting, as it promotes intellectual rigour and helps uncover potential vulnerabilities before others do.
Finally, the CBV designation has not only added technical depth to my toolkit but also enhanced my critical thinking, professional integrity, and standing within the financial community.
Can you share a particularly challenging yet interesting valuation analysis that made you realize you had chosen the right career path?
Although I’m still early in my valuation career and expect even more exciting cases ahead, one recent engagement stands out. My team was tasked with valuing a company involved in a shareholder dispute. Due to the variability in its revenues and cash flow, we determined that a discounted cash flow (DCF) approach was the most appropriate. However, we quickly realized that the length of the available financial forecast wasn’t sufficient to support a reliable DCF analysis. This required us to revisit our assumptions and find alternative ways to further project the company’s future performance. A large part of that involved conducting in-depth industry research, especially into the spending habits and expectations of the company’s key customers, a task that became my responsibility.
This experience shows the dynamic nature of valuation work. There’s rarely a straight path to the final answer, and often we must fill in the blanks using judgment, research, and technical insight. That complexity and problem-solving aspect confirmed for me that this is the right career path. I find it both challenging and incredibly engaging.
What differences do you see in your current role as compared to your previous role?
Before entering the valuation space, I worked as a financial statement auditor at a Big Four firm, specializing in financial services – banks, insurance companies, investment firms, and others. Shifting into valuation, particularly in the practice of litigation support, I’ve noticed several key differences.
First, CBVs are typically engaged as subject matter experts and trusted advisors. Unlike audit work, which is largely compliance-driven, valuation is about delivering insights and conclusions clients can’t easily reach on their own. The work is more consultative and adds value in a very different, more tailored way.
Second, the nature of engagements has changed. In audit, you often work with the same clients year after year. In valuation, particularly litigation support, engagements are non-recurring, and each file brings a new client, a new industry, and a new problem to solve. This demands constant networking, building relationships, and even making referrals, all of which help develop both your practice and your professional community.
Lastly, I now work at a boutique firm with around twenty professionals. The environment is highly collegial and offers greater visibility across all levels. I’ve found it easier to form close mentor-mentee relationships and learn directly from senior professionals with decades of experience. That kind of access was somewhat more limited in my previous role at a large international firm.
These differences have made the transition not only refreshing but also deeply enriching for my professional development.
Do you have any tips for people looking to become a CBV?
My first piece of advice is to be a knowledge sponge. Business valuation is both an art and a science. While the technical side, the “science”, can be learned through textbooks and exams, the “art” of valuation comes from experience. That part can’t be taught; it’s developed over time through exposure to different situations, industries, and clients. To grow in this area, it’s essential to stay open to learning from those who’ve gone ahead of you. More importantly, be receptive to constructive feedback. It’s not always easy, but those who’ve made the mistakes you’re likely to make, and achieved the goals you’re aiming for, can provide invaluable insights.
Secondly, learn to be an effective communicator. As CBVs, we often conduct complex analyses that become second nature to us, but for clients and other stakeholders, these concepts can be completely unfamiliar. The value of your work hinges on how well you can communicate it.
Your analysis is only as useful as it is understandable. If your audience can’t grasp your conclusions or how your work affects their situation, it weakens your professional impact. So, always aim to explain your work clearly – think “explain it like I’m five.” The more clearly and simply you communicate, the more respect and trust your work will command.
Can you share a fun fact about yourself?
If I really think about it, this goes all the way back to grade two. There was a short story writing competition for young writers across Canada. I think that’s what it was called. I wrote a superhero story titled Smash-man and Fast-boy, about a father-son duo. Back then, I was really into writing short stories, poems, and more. I was quite a creative kid, and at one point, I wanted to be an author when I grew up. That story ended up being selected and published in a compilation book featuring the top submissions from students across the country. I still have the book on my shelf today, with my little three- or four-paragraph story in it.