The International Valuation Glossary—Business Valuation has been completed, and a final version has been released. You can access it if you click here (free registration required). A working group made up of members of the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), Saudi Authority for Accredited Valuers (TAQEEM), Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (CBV Institute), and the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) developed this new version, which is intended to replace the glossary last published in 2001.

Not authoritative: Is the new glossary an authoritative document? The working group does not intend the new glossary to be authoritative. The ASA, RICS, TAQEEM, and the CBV Institute will adopt and publish the new glossary as a practice aid/guidance to their members. The IVSC is supportive of the new glossary, but the International Valuation Standards (IVS) define only terms used within IVS. The working group encourages other organizations to use and reference the glossary in any way they see fit.

The process of developing the new glossary was a challenging one and was designed to build consensus. Subject matter experts were consulted, as were other organizations, such as the National Association of Certified Valuation Analysts (NACVA) and The Appraisal Foundation. A draft version was issued in December 2020, and public comments were solicited. All comments received were given thorough consideration by the working group and addressed in the final version as appropriate.

Stay tuned for more news on the glossary, including some comments from members of the working group.