Rick Mertens Bio

Rick Mertens has gained a wealth of experience since first joining public practice accounting back in 1997. Rick has run his own independent valuation practice since 2005 and become a trusted advisor to many accountants, lawyers and business owners in the Lower Mainland and throughout British Columbia.
 
Rick’s initial professional experience was working with a mid-size accounting firm doing general public practice work for several years. After obtaining his accounting designation in 2000, Rick worked in the tax group of the Big 4 firm Deloitte for the next several years while completing the In-Depth Tax Program. Involvement in transactional and advisory work at Deloitte sparked Rick’s interest in the area of business valuation and he joined the CBV program of studies in 2003. Rick also gained valuable experience working with a boutique valuation firm and completed his CBV designation before embarking on his own specialized practice.    
 
The variety and breadth of Rick’s professional experience enable him to understand complex share structures and scenarios. This allows Rick to quickly identify what assets and shares need to be valued for a given engagement. There are a lot of technical terms used in valuation, accounting, tax and litigation and providing clarity to clients in plain English is often an important part of explaining and starting an assignment.
 
Rick is committed to lifelong learning and in addition to his professional designations, he has completed a number of other specialized courses in areas of tax, finance, investment and corporate governance. In the years following designation Rick helped out his accounting association with the development and updating of curriculum, acting as a national online course tutor and course marking.
 
Outside of work Rick enjoys spending time with his wife and three children, keeping physically active and playing golf.
 
Education and Professional Designations

• Bachelor of Accounting Science degree from the University of Calgary.
• Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA, CGA) - recipient of 4 academic awards for highest exam marks in BC and Canada. Member since August 2000.
• Completion of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountant’s 3-year In-Depth Tax Program (through the Institute of Chartered Accountants of BC from 2000 to 2003).
• Chartered Business Valuator (CBV). Member of the CBV Institute (formerly known as the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators) since December 2004.

Current Practice Specialization

• Business valuation services
• Financial litigation support services

Professional Experience

• 23 years experience in public accounting with 20 years in specialized advisory services
• Preparation of business valuations for a wide variety of businesses
• Quantification of business losses and other commercial damages
• Appearing as an expert witness in the Supreme Court of British Columbia
• Assisting with the purchase and sale of businesses
• A variety of tax planning and compliance
• General accounting and financial reporting

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Contact Rick For Independent Valuation Advice 
604-345-4103