Progress or Regress? What is happening to Valuation Standards?

As flagged in my earlier article “Sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast!” the IVSC is proposing some radical changes to the International Valuation Standards. The comment deadline for some of the drafts has now passed, but the consultation period for the last batch of six runs until the end of August.

At Valuology we have now completed our review of all the proposals and submitted our comment letters. We remain bemused at many of the proposals, which not only run contrary to the general thrust of comments received in previous consultations over many years, but that also would have the effect of making the standards very different from most other sets of valuation standards on the planet. A number of previously publicised decisions of the board have been ignored without explanation, and some previously issued guidance has not been mentioned at all.

Even if you do not think that you are affected by the IVSs, you should not be complacent. Many standards issued by professional valuation bodies around the world are based on the IVSs. For example, the RICS “Red Book” states that it “formally recognises and adopts the IVS by requiring members to follow them”. So if you are either a valuer or someone who relies on valuations, time spent on looking at proposals and letting the IVSC have your views will not be wasted.

You will of course form your own views, but we provide an overview of the main proposals, links to the IVSC drafts and our comment letters for each at www.valuology.org/ivs-2017