“I REALIZE I’VE TRULY BECOME AN EXPERT”
TIAS EXPERIENCE
“Whatever they may ask of me, I just know I’ll come up with a solution. I realize I’ve truly become an expert.” These are the words of Astrid Baetsen, Senior Analyst Corporate Finance at Aeternus. She completed her TIAS Executive Master of Business Valuation in 2022 and worked as a Corporate Finance Advisor at ABAB Accountants Adviseurs. Looking back on the development she has undergone, Astrid still applies the knowledge she acquired then on a daily basis.
SPECIALIZING IN BUSINESS VALUATION
Five years ago, Astrid had just finished a fulltime Master in Management/Business Administration, another TIAS program, when she joined ABAB as a Corporate Finance Advisor. One of her colleagues was doing the Master of Business Valuation at the time. ABAB believes in having employees sharing knowledge from external courses with their colleagues, so Astrid soon learned what the master involved. “I found it really interesting, I knew right away I wanted to specialize in business valuation. I had just graduated and only had two years of work experience at a bank, so I was determined to do some traveling and buy a house first. Then came Covid… My travel plans disappeared into thin air. I decided I might as well start my Master of Business Valuation earlier, despite lacking two of the required five years of work experience. In particular, the more difficult financial subjects (VPC1, VPC2, Corporate Finance and Advanced Corporate Finance) have ensured that I have the necessary knowledge for a career switch such as this. The in-depth insights from these subjects gave me a strong foundation for my current work.”
Wanting to know it all After discussing her plans with her colleague (who had done the same Master’s program) and her boss, both of whom believed she could handle it, Astrid signed up for the program. Due to her lack of work experience, she had to go through an intake process to prove she was ready. And so she did. There she was, 26 and the youngest of her class. “I’d already picked up quite a bit about business valuation from my colleagues, but I wanted to know it all. I love learning new things, and I also wanted that Master’s degree so that I could perform valuations independently and gain the title of Registered Business Valuator. Mainly, though, I wanted to attend the program to become better at my job.”
“To me, the big advantage of TIAS is that the programs combine theory and practice.”
WHY TIAS?
Astrid had good memories of her previous Full-time Master in Management/Business Administration at TIAS. “When I learned from my colleague that TIAS also offers a Master of Business Valuation, the decision was easy to make. I knew I could trust the program’s organization to be solid. For each of their programs, TIAS appoints a Program Manager to take care of things. The Program Manager knows all the individual students in the program personally and is present whenever there are classes. They are there to answer all the students’ questions unrelated to content. They are also quick to provide an answer that is of use.” Combination of theory and practice “You don’t necessarily pick a program on the strength of its internal organization,” Astrid continues, “but it does give you reassurance, because you know you don’t have to worry about the side issues. “To me, the big advantage of TIAS compared to a university is that the programs combine theory and practice.” The cases are drawn from real life. You are taught how to apply your newfound knowledge directly in your day-to-day work.”
Name Astrid Baetsen
Position Senior Analyst Corporate Finance at Aeternus, one of the largest independent M&A firms in the Netherlands. In this role, Astrid is mainly involved in business valuations for a wide range of client questions in the field of corporate finance for the higher SME segment. Think of buying and selling companies, family transfers and employee participations. Since she has been allowed to call herself a Registered Valuator, she has also been involved as a party expert or second opinion advisor in disputes about company values, such as divorces and legal conflicts between shareholders.
Program Executive Master of Business Valuation “The program is very good at teaching you in which contexts each valuation method should be used. This is a big point of attention, especially in the beginning.”
“I know how to approach valuation issues now.”
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE IN PRACTICE
From the very first day of the program, Astrid found herself applying the knowledge she was gaining in practice. “I would think, ‘Oh, I’ll be doing this differently from now on,’ or I would realize that our whole team needed to change our valuation approach within a specific corporate finance context. I also used what I learned during my master to present a training session at ABAB, so our whole team could benefit from new knowledge on the subject.”
All the tools Astrid now feels she has all the tools she needs to do her work well. “Before I started the program, I often found myself wondering how to tackle certain valuation issues. There are still plenty of issues that are new to me, where I don’t know what to do right away. Thanks to the program, however, I’ve become faster at finding a solution. I know how to approach certain valuation issues. The program is very good at teaching you in which contexts each valuation method should be used. This is a big point of attention, especially in the beginning. I found that extremely helpful. It’s given me more confidence. Towards our customers, too.”
Registered Business Valuator
Attaining her Master in Business Valuation also allowed Astrid to register as a Registered Business Valuator with the NiRV, the Dutch professional association of Registered Business Valuators. That meant she could also perform valuations relating to situations such as divorce proceedings, bankruptcies and shareholder disputes. Astrid: “The fact that I have this title, in addition to my previous work experience, makes me very attractive to employers. I was approached by Aeternus three years ago, when I was still doing the training. Because the training took up a lot of time, that was not the right time to switch. Three years later, I found myself in calmer waters and decided to contact them again. And one thing led to another.”
Assessment
Astrid: “To become a Registered Business Valuator, you must successfully complete a Master of Business Valuation and also make it through a subsequent assessment of the NiRV. While the master’s thesis is mainly concerned with how you approach a specific valuation and why, the assessment focuses more on the impact of your valuation on the event that led to its performance, such as an acquisition or the handover of a family business. You are given two chances to make it through the assessment. If you don’t pass one of those two attempts, that’s it; this was your only chance to be added to the register of Registered Business Valuators.” For Astrid, a single assessment proved sufficient.
PE (Professional Education) points
Once you are registered, you have to keep up your registration through the accumulation of PE points. To gain such points you can complete various types of training, attend relevant meetings or the annual NiRV convention, for instance. Astrid: “During training courses and get-togethers, you often meet fellow former students and professors from the program and get to know new Registered Business Valuators. That’s what makes them fun.”
“For our final projects, we were always strongly advised to consult our fellow students.”
MIXTURE OF PARTICIPANTS
Besides the subject matter expertise and cases provided by professors and guest lecturers, Astrid is quick to emphasize that she also learned a lot from fellow participants. “Our class of twenty-five consisted of a mixture of finance professionals from the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration, major corporations, investment companies and corporate finance consultants. Final projects for the various modules were individual in principle, but we were always strongly advised to consult our fellow students as well.
Learning from each other “I was part of a group with four or five other participants who had agreed to start by completing as much of the final assignment as we could individually by a certain date. After that, we’d come together online to discuss any issues we’d run into. Especially for the ones that caused everyone trouble, we often managed to find our way to a solution together. I really enjoyed that experience. I continue to see some of those participants occasionally. Besides personal matters, we also discuss things we encounter in the course of our work that we don’t quite know how to approach. So, we’re still learning from each other.”
AMBITIONS
While on paper, Astrid remains a junior advisor, in practice she already handles valuations for smaller SMEs herself. “My role is currently somewhere halfway between junior and senior corporate finance advisor. My goal is to become a senior corporate finance advisor eventually.”
ASTRID’S TIP
“When combined with a fulltime job, the TIAS master can be quite a challenge. Clear your calendar accordingly. After talking to Registered Business Valuators who gained their degrees elsewhere, I can also say with confidence that the TIAS program’s combination of theory and practice is unrivalled. It teaches you how to apply your newfound knowledge directly in your day-to-day work.”
Strive for a top role in business valuation? Check out TIAS' part-time Master of Business Valuation (MBV) program, offering a comprehensive approach to valuation, including financial markets, tax laws, venture capital, IPOs, and real options. Enhance your skills and open new career paths. Download the brochure to see if the Executive Master of Business Valuation is for you.
TIAS School for Business and Society is a place for leaders, professionals and managers who want to make a change, just like you; to get the best out of themselves and create an impact within and with their organization. TIAS has a broad portfolio of part time Masters, Advanced programs, MBAs, Master Classes, TIAS 8hrs and InCompany programs.
Business and Society is the common thread that unites our programs. TIAS focuses on four areas of competence: Responsible Leadership, Collaboration, Business Modeling and Sustainable Innovation. As tomorrow's leader, it is the combination of these four elements that will allow you to transform your business and create an impact.
Would you like to share this publication?
Did you find this publication interesting, inspiring or relevant? Then share it in your own network.
TIAS is the business school of Tilburg University and Eindhoven University of Technology.
NEVER STOP ASKING
TILBURG UNIVERSITY
EINDHOVEN UNIVERSITY
OF TECHNOLOGY