Other Designations / Credentials: Certified Public Accountant (CPA-AICPA), Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV-AICPA), Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF-AICPA), Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA-NACVA), and Certified Business Appraiser (CBA-IBA)
Professional Experience: Carl A. Steffen joined Wisan, Smith, Racker & Prescott, LLP in January 2003. In 1996, he founded the Salt Lake CPA firm of Steffen & Company, where his primary areas of practice were in business valuation, tax consulting, and some mediation services.
Mr. Steffen specializes in business valuations associated with the purchase/sale of a business, mergers or acquisitions, estate and gift taxes, Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs), and litigation support. He has performed business valuation services for companies in many different industries, including professional service organizations, technology and telecommunications companies, wholesale distributors, printing companies, medical and related firms, insurance companies, manufacturing concerns, construction companies, real estate firms, retail operations, restaurants, agricultural businesses, and family limited partnerships and limited liability companies, among others. He has also valued intellectual property and intangible assets of business organizations. Besides his expertise in business valuation, Mr. Steffen’s 35+ years of professional experience also includes all aspects of corporate, individual, and other entity taxation. He has been a tax director involved with the tax compliance, planning, and research (federal / multi-state / foreign) for major corporations, including the Clorox Company, Cutter Laboratories, Foremost-McKesson, Lucky Stores, and American Stores. He has analyzed complex business transactions for tax significance and has represented corporations, individuals, and other businesses before the IRS and other state taxing jurisdictions. Mediation services focus on divorce and other business-related issues (certificate of mediation training and divorce mediation training received through Utah Dispute Resolution).
A licensed CPA in Utah and California, Mr. Steffen graduated from the University of California, Berkeley with a BS and MBA (Accounting) and earned a Master’s degree (Taxation) from Golden Gate University (San Francisco). He has been named an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) through the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) and a Certified Business Appraiser (CBA) through the Institute of Business Appraisers (IBA). Mr. Steffen is also accredited as a Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) through the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA) and is accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) through the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He is currently one of only ten to fifteen individuals who hold all four business valuation designations nationwide, and he is the only CPA in Utah accredited in business valuation by all four professional organizations. Further, Mr. Steffen is also Certified in Financial Forensics (CFF) through the AICPA. He was honored as Outstanding Member of NACVA in 2001. He is a former President of the Utah Chapter of the NACVA and is a member of its Valuation Credentialing Board and its Standards Committee, as well as a member of other professional organizations. He has made numerous presentations on business valuation before professional organizations.