That was the question raised by several speakers at the 8th International Conference on the Valuation of Plant Machinery and Equipment (ICVPME) in St. Petersburg, Russia. Raymond Rath (Globalview Advisors LLC), who attended the conference and presented a session on fixed asset valuation, tells BVWire that Sir David Tweedie, current chair of the International Valuation Standards Council, stressed the continued need for increased standardization of valuation practice in the overall valuation profession. Sir David highlighted comments by the then acting chief accountant (now chief accountant) of the SEC, Paul Beswick, about the fragmented nature of the valuation profession in the United States and the concerns this creates for third parties that rely on valuations. Sir David and other speakers raised the question of whether the valuation profession can continue to be a self-regulated profession or whether—similar to the accounting profession in the U.S.—greater government oversight will be warranted.