A few months ago, BVWire reported that the AICPA was developing new specialty credentials in the area of fair value measurement. The global valuation profession is banding together over this important endeavor.

Joint effort: Representatives of the AICPA, ASA, RICS, and IVSC, along with the large audit firms and regulators, were brought together by The Appraisal Foundation in Washington, D.C., last week for its third Business Valuation Roundtable. A large panel of speakers discussed the coordination of efforts in developing international standards and practices with respect to these new credentials. The certification process would cover two areas of fair value measurement: (1) business and intangible assets; and (2) financial instruments.

Representatives of the large audit firms applauded the progress so far, as an effort is being made to align it with the biggest problems auditors face when reviewing valuation work. Paul Beswick, former chief accountant at the SEC and now in the private sector, advised that efforts be made to get buy-in from the marketplace (investors, users, etc.) along the way. As you may recall, when he was with the SEC, Beswick was critical of the fragmented nature of the profession and made a public call for unification.

BVWire applauds this global coordinated effort around standards and practices that will certainly help enhance the valuation profession and improve the public’s trust. More details on the TAF meeting will be in the December issue of Business Valuation Update (subscription required).