Business Valuation Demand Is at a Cyclical High
Demand for business valuation services is being driven simultaneously by multiple market forces in 2026. M&A transaction volume, while below 2021 peaks, remains elevated as private equity firms deploy record capital. Estate and gift tax planning activity has intensified ahead of the anticipated sunset of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act increased exemption amounts in 2026. ESOP transactions continue to grow as baby-boomer business owners pursue ownership transition strategies. Litigation-related valuations tied to shareholder disputes, divorce proceedings, and insurance claims represent a steady base of demand.
The American Society of Appraisers (ASA) 2025 Business Valuation Survey found that 71 percent of credentialed business valuation analysts reported full engagement calendars, and 48 percent turned away engagements in the prior 12 months due to capacity constraints. The primary constraint cited was not analytical capacity but administrative bandwidth: the time required to set up engagements, collect information, and manage client communication alongside active analysis work.
Document Collection: The Critical Path Bottleneck
Business valuation reports cannot begin substantive analysis until the engagement team has received a defined set of source documents: typically three to five years of financial statements, federal tax returns, ownership capitalization tables, management projections, and industry-specific operational data. Collecting these documents from clients—who are often business owners with limited time and varying sophistication about what is needed—requires persistent, professional follow-up.
VAs manage the document request workflow from initial engagement through complete file assembly. They distribute itemized document request lists, send structured follow-up sequences, track receipt of each item in the engagement management platform, and escalate missing items to the lead analyst before the engagement kick-off call. A 2024 National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts (NACVA) practice survey found that firms with structured document collection processes started substantive analysis an average of 6.4 days earlier per engagement compared to those using informal request methods.
Stakeholder Scheduling and Interview Coordination
Most valuation engagements require at least one management interview to understand business operations, competitive positioning, and near-term outlook. For M&A and litigation engagements, multiple stakeholder interviews may be required. Scheduling these interviews—coordinating availability across business owners, attorneys, and valuation analysts—can consume hours of back-and-forth communication.
VAs handle interview scheduling through the firm's calendar coordination tools, send meeting confirmations, distribute pre-interview document agendas, and manage rescheduling when required. They also coordinate site visit logistics for larger engagements that include facility inspections or in-person management presentations.
Billing Structures Specific to Valuation Work
Valuation engagement billing structures vary significantly by engagement type. Litigation support work may be billed hourly with detailed narrative entries for legal cost recovery. M&A and estate work is often fixed-fee with additional fees for scope extensions. ESOP transactions carry structured fee tiers tied to deal size. VAs track time entries against each billing structure, generate invoices in the format required by the engagement type, submit invoices through client or counsel billing portals, and reconcile payments against retainer accounts.
The ASA 2025 survey found that valuation firms with dedicated billing support personnel—whether staff or VAs—had average DSO of 31 days, versus 52 days for those managing billing ad hoc.
Report Production and Distribution Support
Valuation reports are formal documents that go through multiple review cycles before delivery. VAs manage the production workflow: applying firm formatting templates to analyst-drafted reports, coordinating internal review routing, incorporating revisions, and distributing final reports through secure delivery channels to the client, counsel, and any required third parties such as the IRS (for estate and gift filings) or the Department of Labor (for ESOP transactions).
Business valuation firms seeking to increase analyst capacity and reduce administrative friction should evaluate VA support for client coordination, document collection, and billing. Stealth Agents offers virtual assistants with professional services administrative experience suited to the engagement lifecycle of valuation firms.
Sources
- American Society of Appraisers Business Valuation Survey, 2025
- National Association of Certified Valuators and Analysts Practice Survey, 2024
- ASA Business Valuation Billing and Collections Survey, 2025
- Duff & Phelps/Kroll Valuation Insights, 2025