BVWire attended the Southeast Chapter of Business Appraisers (SECBA) conference in Atlanta last week. This year’s theme was “Valuations in the Future,” and here are some highlights from the first day of this two-day event.

Online cost of capital tool: The live demo of the new D&P Cost of Capital Navigator—by Andrew Vey and Aaron Russo of Duff & Phelps—garnered intense interest from the audience. This online application will replace the print versions of the Valuation Handbook series. The tool will initially embody the Valuation Handbook – U.S. Guide to Cost of Capital, with the other handbooks in the series incorporated later. Audience members needed it clarified—several times, in fact—that the handbooks will no longer be available in hardcover form. A print version will be available, but it will not include the data tables. The Cost of Capital Navigator will be released in about three weeks, Vey and Russo said, and it will be available from BVR. (To see a free demo and more details, go to www.bvresources.com/Navigator.)

Standards: Mark Zyla (Acuitas) gave an update on standards, pointing out that regulators are concerned by the multiple sets of standards appraisers follow. Zyla is chairman of the Standards Review Board of the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), which issues global standards that are becoming an umbrella standard across the world. Many countries have adopted these standards, known as IVS 2017, and efforts are underway to show that they are consistent with other standards. For example, there is a “bridge” document that compares IVS to USPAP.

Zyla also noted that as part of the IVSC restructuring, there will be a new Financial Instruments Board, which will function alongside the Tangible Assets Board and the Business Valuation Board. The need for standards for the valuation of financial instruments was demonstrated by a study the IVSC conducted in which 40 different banks were given the same financial instrument to value. The valuations were all over the map—there was a 125% variation in the valuation by banks that trade in these instruments every day.

Insurance: The adequacy of business insurance coverage can affect the value of a business, so it needs to be considered as part of an appraiser’s due diligence, advises Lorin Montgomery, a CPCU. Inadequate coverage could put a firm out of business, an audience member pointed out.

The next issue of BVWire will cover Day 2 of the SECBA conference, which includes a discussion of the new tax law and its impact on valuation, personal goodwill in M&A transactions, block chain and other electronic payments, and more.