Laurie-Leigh White is responsible for overseeing the execution of a variety of valuation and litigation engagements.  Specifically, Ms. White specializes in the valuation of companies, partnerships, intangible assets, complex securities for financial reporting and tax purposes, and employee stock ownership plans.  Ms. White also serves as the head of the firm’s Houston office. 

Ms. White has been involved in thousands of valuation projects for a wide variety of purposes, including financial reporting, employee stock ownership plans, valuations for tax purposes, transaction advisory, and fairness opinions.  Drawing on this experience, Ms. White co-chairs the firm’s transaction advisory committees.  Additionally, Ms. White has been involved in litigation consulting assignments related to economic damages, financial forensics, marital dissolution, and valuation matters.

Ms. White’s valuation experience is expansive, including valuations for the purposes of mergers and acquisitions, financial reporting (with a focus on “fair value” accounting for goodwill impairment and purchase price allocations), employee stock ownership plans (including annual update valuations and transaction driven fairness opinions), and gift and estate tax.  Ms. White has deep experience regarding the valuation of a variety of securities, including publicly-traded and closely-held common stock, preferred stock, stock options and warrants, and partnership interests.  She is the leader of BVA’s employee stock ownership plan practice.

Ms. White received a Master of Science in Accounting, a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Southern Methodist University, where she graduated with highest honors.  Ms. White is a Certified Public Accountant* who holds the designation of Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) and is an Accredited Senior Appraiser of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA) with an Intangible Assets Appraisal Specialty and holds the Certified in Entity and Intangible Valuations™ (CEIV™) Credential designation.  She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Texas Society of Certified Public Accountants. 

Ms. White was selected as a recipient of the 2020 American Society of Appraisers Rising Stars award and the 2016 AICPA Forensic and Valuation Services Standing Ovation Recognition award.  Both awards are designed to recognize professionals in the forensic, litigation and valuation practice areas who are 40 or under, hold certain valuation-related credentials, and have exhibited exemplary professional achievement.  Additionally, Ms. White was recognized as an honoree in the Houston Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business 2019 class.  This award honors Houston’s most successful women business leaders in a variety of for-profit and nonprofit industries.  Most recently, Ms. White was named the 2022 American Society of Appraisers’ Appraiser of the Year. 

Ms. White is active in the Women’s Finance Exchange of Houston, serving as former President and multi-year Treasurer of the organization.  She is a Board Member of the Houston chapter of the National Business Development Association and also formerly served in a leadership role of an investor relations subcommittee of the Greater Houston Partnership.  Ms. White also currently serves as Secretary of the American Society of Appraisers Business Valuation Committee and is a member of the organization’s Board of Examiners.  Recognized as a leader in the energy valuation industry, she is the immediate past chairperson for the American Society of Appraisers National Energy Valuation Conference and currently serves on the planning committee.  Ms. White has spoken at multiple conferences, primarily on advanced ESOP, tax and financial reporting valuation issues.  She also is a contributing author to Financial Valuation: Applications and Models, 4^th Edition (April 2017) and 5^th edition (in process), as well as Valuing a Business, 6^th Edition (March 2022).  

*Although BVA employs CPAs, it is not a CPA firm.