Acting on its promise made last fall, the International Valuation Standards Committee (IVSC) has just released its “radical proposals” for restructuring. In a January 18, 2007 release, the IVSC compares this “major” restructuring proposal to the one “undertaken by the International Accounting Standards Board in the late 1990’s that led to the creation of the…IASB.” Key recommendations include:

• Creation of a new, independent and autonomous International Valuation Standards Board, with an Elected Board of Trustees and an Interpretations Committee;

• Renaming the IVSC to the “International Valuations Standards Council,” and expanding its membership “beyond national professional valuation institutes to include valuation companies, national standard setters, users of valuations, academics and others;” and,

• Developing “high quality” international practice standards and assisting the development of the valuation profession in emerging economies.

The IVSC may also be acting in concert with FASB’s Invitation to Comment on domestic (U.S.) valuation standards, released last week. (See BVWire™ 52-3.) In another announcement (Jan 15, 2007), IVSC chairman Joseph Vella welcomed the FASB initiative as well as the opportunity to create “one set of consistently applied global standards…I call on all involved to lay aside self interest and work together to improve the quality and transparency of valuation reporting.”