Who is David Meslati?

David Meslati is a Business Valuation Manager at the Montreal office of MNP and is both a CPA Auditor and a Chartered Business Valuator (CBV). Born in Marseilles, David has also earned the title of Professional Accountant in France, where he practiced for several years. Five years ago, he crossed the Atlantic to make a place for himself in Montreal. Here he joined MNP, where he first practiced assurance before turning to valuation, a field that fully quenches his curiosity and keen desire to learn.

What attracted you to the field of valuation?

 For a few years before joining MNP, I had practiced professional accounting as an intern in France, where they take a more general approach. What we did went beyond just accounting issues and extended to anything touching on taxation, corporate law, and management auditing, which I found very rewarding. After arriving in Quebec and spending a few years practicing in the field of assurance, I naturally turned to valuation, which gives me the flexibility to satisfy my natural inclination to look for answers and always learn new things.

Valuation has two main components. One is producing valuation reports, which can be for the purposes of taxation, a transition, or a potential transaction, and the other is providing support in financial litigation. In financial litigation cases, we serve as financial experts in court. Both aspects of our practice are quite distinct from each other, and the approach we take with each one is completely different.

When it comes to valuing a business, quantifying the risk associated with that business is a major issue. It requires us to examine many factors, not just financial ones, including the human aspects that can affect a business. That’s where things get interesting. In terms of litigation support, we regularly review legal, financial, and technical documents. For example, in one water treatment infrastructure case, I had to go through about 1,500 pages of technical reports, and let me say reviewing numbers of cubic meters of wastewater or amounts of polymers used is a far cry from reading financial statements! Having a curious mind is critical in this kind of situation. It pushes me to keep digging and searching, and sometimes I’m able to find major flaws in the opposing party’s reports.

What added value do you bring to your clients?

First and foremost, we bring them expertise. We’re affiliated with the CBV Institute, and the professional title we hold recognizes two years of specialized valuation studies. I’m fortunate to be able to work with a great team that has built a strong reputation for excellence. MNP is a highly regarded name in the world of business valuation.

In addition, the reports we produce at MNP go above and beyond what the standards require. There are different levels of reporting detail. Even our simplest calculation reports are so detailed that they could easily meet the standards for reports requiring a much higher level of precision.

What motivates you most in your work?

Learning. If I had to stop learning and my day-to-day routine started to always look and feel the same, I’m not sure I’d keep at it. Learning is an essential part of my life, and I like to learn continuously, especially about fields with which I’m completely unfamiliar. For example, right now on my bedside table I have a book about Norse mythology, and I’m finishing up Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl. While learning is important, so is continuing to reflect on things.

I put my constant quest for answers and attention to detail to good use in my professional life. In life in general, I’m a passionate person who also believes deeply in the idea of justice. And I’m happy to put these personality traits to work for my clients and their interests. We have to remember that the service we’re selling is basically our brain power. To me, providing impeccable service delivery is my top priority.

To learn more about business valuation and how MNP can help, contact David Meslati at [email protected].