I'm a business broker with 4 years of experience and I'm prepping for the BCA exam. The valuation methodology content I feel decent about since I use income and market approaches regularly in my work. What I can't find good information on is the report writing component - specifically what they're evaluating and what format they expect.
From the exam outline I've seen, the written section seems to test whether you can structure and support a valuation conclusion in formal language. I'm used to writing deal memos and client summaries, but I don't know if the BCA expects something closer to a full appraisal report format with specific required sections and terminology.
I've been working through a BCA practice test to get a feel for the multiple choice question style and I'm scoring around 73%, which I understand is near the passing range. The adjustment and normalization questions are where I'm losing the most points and I can't quite pin down why.
Anyone who's been through the BCA - did the written section require a fully formatted appraisal report or was it more like structured analysis responses? That distinction would really change how I prep over the next 4 weeks.
The written portion isn't a full appraisal report - it's structured analysis questions where you need to show your reasoning clearly and in order. Format still matters though; they want organized responses, not stream-of-consciousness working notes.
Passed at 76% on my first attempt after 5 weeks of study at about 90 minutes a day. The income approach questions were more detailed than I expected - specifically the distinction between seller's discretionary earnings and EBITDA in different transaction contexts.
Worth finding a NACVA study group if you can. The BCA prep materials aren't as robust as some other credentials and peer discussion on edge cases helped me calibrate what depth the exam actually expects.
Normalization and add-back adjustments were the hardest area for me too. The key is being consistent with your methodology and being able to articulate why you're making each adjustment, not just what the resulting number is.