After five years with the Tennessee Golf Association, I put the clubs away to pursue a job in the financial sector. I earned my MBA, with a finance concentration, from Middle Tennessee State University and soon thereafter joined a real estate development firm as a financial analyst and development associate. Three years and the worst real estate market in history later, I politely excused myself from the real estate sector to focus my career in business valuation. As a shareholder in the business valuation and litigation support group at LBMC, I work with a team of experienced valuation professionals who possess diverse backgrounds in valuation, consulting, forensic accounting, litigation support (commercial and family law), and buy and sell side merger and acquisition representation. I was first exposed to valuation and merger and acquisition work in the commercial real estate business and because many of the underlying concepts are the same, business valuation was an easy transition. Although real estate specific for the first three years, I have focused my career on valuation and financial consulting since 2008.My practice is focused primarily in three areas:• Gift, estate and income tax planning and reporting (valuation of closely held businesses and business interests)• Intangible asset valuation including business combinations (ASC 805) and goodwill impairment testing (ASC 350)• Merger and acquisition work (both buy side and sell side)My colleagues and I have the pleasure of working with estate attorneys in federal and state valuation matters and numerous business owners and C-suite executives from small, closely held companies to large public corporations.