George B. Hawkins

George B. Hawkins
George Hawkins, ASA, ABV, CFA, a Managing Director of Banister Financial, Inc. Business Valuations, is an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) in business valuation of the American Society of Appraisers, is Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charter holder.

Prior to founding Banister Financial, Hawkins served in corporate lending, risk management, and credit analysis positions with North Carolina National Bank (now Bank of America) and First Citizens Bank. Hawkins obtained a B.A. in Economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and a MBA from Wake Forest University.

Hawkins is co-author (along with Michael Paschall of Banister Financial) of Business Valuation Guide, published by Wolters Kluwer, a book now in its twentieth edition (2019). He is formerly co-editor of CCH Business Valuation Alert, a national quarterly business valuation journal. Hawkins has published numerous articles in leading business valuation journals, legal and other publications on a wide variety of business valuation topics.

Hawkins is a qualified business valuation expert in U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, various state courts, the North Carolina Business Court, and in arbitration hearings for estates/gifts, divorce, dissenting shareholder litigation, business damages, and bankruptcy. Hawkins has been appointed more than 80 times by courts as an independent business appraiser in disputes and divorces and is routinely engaged jointly by opposing parties to resolve business valuation disputes.

Hawkins has appeared on behalf of taxpayers before the IRS on business valuation issues, and has been retained by the United States Justice Department to value business interests in estate tax matters. Hawkins has also served as an advisor to a United States Federal Magistrate on business valuation issues.

Hawkins is one of an elite group of 28 Charter Members (the only one in the Carolinas) of the Forensic and Business Valuation Services Chapter of the AAML Foundation, affiliated with the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers (AAML). The AAML is the nation’s premier organization for highly experienced attorneys practicing family law and consists of 1,600 of the best divorce lawyers in America. Charter Members were selected on the basis of their national reputation and achievements in business valuation, litigation support and forensic accounting, their history of serving AAML members and their clients in complex financial matters during divorce proceedings, and their commitment to integrity in the process.

Hawkins is a frequent speaker on business valuation to national conferences, including the Business Valuation Conference of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the Business Valuation Conference of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Judicial Section of the American Bar Association, the American Bar Association-American Law Institute, the National Trust Real Estate Association, and to various law schools. Hawkins has also served as a panelist and a moderator in various national teleconferences and webinars for business appraisers.

Hawkins served two three-year elected terms as a member of the Business Valuation Committee of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the governing body of the ASA’s business valuation discipline. He also served six years as the head of the Business Valuation section of the International Board of Examiners of the ASA, which reviews business valuation reports for competency by candidates seeking accreditation. Hawkins previously served eight years as an Advisor and an Examiner to the Board, and was named Examiner of the Year one of those years.