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Published on: 4/18/2004
Last Visited: 4/18/2004
William Duvall, Manassas, VA - A business valuation expert, William "Bill" Duvall proves there's no substitute for experience.
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William DuvallDec. 5, 2003 - When Fiducial's Network Members need a business valuation professional to assist them in appraisal matters, they discover that the real "experts" are few and far between.Like William "Bill" Duvall of Manassas, VA, who proves there is simply no substitute for experience in the business appraisal field.
As both a Certified Public Accountant and Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA), Duvall can be an ace in the hole for any Member involved in these complicated matters.Having appeared as an expert in accounting, tax and business valuation issues in Prince William, Fairfax and Loudon County Courts in Virginia as well as Federal District and Bankruptcy Court, his track record speaks for itself.
"I can honestly say that I have never lost a case in any type of litigation support matter," said Duvall, "because I go into it objectively by not trying to inflate or deflate the value depending on the side I work for."
Duvall knows what it takes to be successful in business, having built two accounting firms from the ground up and zero clients with the most recent one acquired by Fiducial.
"When it comes to any kind of business, the key is growth and expertise," he said."All we are is purveyors of information to management and ourselves-it's a pretty sad thing if a business advisor can't manage their own business."
In business valuation, Duvall insists that "you get what you pay for."
"To do it right, it takes some time," he said."It's just like an audit.You've got to know where to look and what to look for."
Still A Kick
Next year will mark his 20th year in the profession, yet Duvall still gets a kick out of what he's doing.
"I just love it," he said.
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Duvall uses a special software package for his valuation work - Business Valuation Manager Pro, version 2.0, and he recommends it.
His valuation expertise is called in for shareholder disputes and divorce cases which have been very steady in his locale."We're the largest accounting firm in the Manassas area," he said."People come to us for expertise they just can't get anywhere else."
It may sound like a cliché but Duvall said that the success of the business is a direct result of having a team atmosphere in place from the top to the bottom of the 13-person staff.The firm's efforts have gained so much attention that three staff members have been voted "Super CPAs" in the state and are highlighted in a special report in the November 2003 issue of Virginia Business Magazine.
Duvall was honored for his work in Litigation Support and Business Valuation while John Wheeler was singled out for Financial Planning and Kate Deane for both Individual Tax and Estate Tax.This is the third year in a row that Deane has claimed this honor.Official ballots were sent to more than 5,000 CPAs in the state asking them to identify the names of peers they considered to be the best at their craft.
"We always knew that we did good work but when your competition thinks the same thing, it's flattering and humbling," Duvall said.
Exponential Growth
Duvall made a lasting impression on Bill Morice, Fiducial's Director of Field Operations, who described Duvall as "a consummate professional, an articulate, self-motivated individual who knew where he wanted to go."
Aside from attending Old Dominion University, Duvall has spent his entire life in Prince William County, where he earned a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in accounting in 1982.
Recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency, his first job out of college was in the payroll department."I thought they were going to make me a spy but instead they turned me into an accountant," said Duvall who has been in public accounting since February 1984.
This month marks the 11th anniversary of the founding of Duvall's business that began rather unassumingly.
"We started out with one accountant, me, and had no clients," Duvall recalled.Things really began to take off when partner John Wheeler joined the firm in 1996.Since then, there's been no looking back.
"When John came in we went to the next level," Duvall said."Our business has grown exponentially.We've grown 15% to 20% a year.John is a Certified Financial Planner (CFP) and a CPA.He brought in a vast amount of knowledge that I didn't have, especially with regards to government contractors."
Duvall and Wheeler got the business rolling at a relatively young age and both are now in their early 40s.
"I think people like that," Duvall said."When they meet our staff and see the level of services we provide, it just blows the competition out of the water.The client is key, the client is everything-that's what we've got to keep in mind: What have we done for our clients today?"
Great Example
Morice noted that Duvall has a natural grasp of what it takes to capture and keep clients and he works at it.
"He was involved in all the things that our Local Marketing System says to do and he did them well," Morice said."He's involved his whole firm in these things.Add to that quality work with regular client discussion and you have great client retention as well."
One of Duvall's clients is Pete Neimeier, a small business owner, who is president of the Alexandria, VA.-based Miniature Motorsports Racing Association, the oldest and largest sanctioning body in the country for half-scale stock cars known as minicups.Duvall has been Neimeier's accountant for five years and took him up on his suggestion that Fiducial become a contingency sponsor of the MMRA.
"Anything that can get Fiducial's name out there and build brand awareness is always good," Duvall said.
The Manassas office is not yet a complete Fiducial Branch with the full lineup of services but they are a stellar example for strategic counseling, according to Morice.
"All of the other offices can look to Manassas for guidance on providing client services in the areas of Litigation Support, Business Valuation, Strategic Financial Positioning and Tax Representation," Morice said."They are also a great example for client retention and continued profit.They have almost completed Fiducial transition without sacrificing net profit and they have retained the client base.Of course, for Bill, John and their staff, this is just another successful year."
Duvall and crew are not just number crunchers or bookkeepers, per se, which takes the business a step beyond most CPA firms.They are proactive instead of reactive so they can expand what their clients are doing in receivables turnover and inventory turnover.
"It's not hard being an accountant, but servicing the clients who need the help makes it interesting," Duvall added.
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