After a year of internal restructuring and reshuffle, the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) has become a different organisation, chairman Sir David Tweedie told The Accountant.
Since the emergence of the 2008 financial crisis, the 34-year-old organisation has been steadily redefining its purpose, vision and structure, but 2015 could be regarded as a milestone in this process of change.
Ahead its AGM recently held in Paris, the IVSC commissioned an independent assessment conducted by an 8-strong review group which set up recommendations for the future strategy and good governance of the standard-setter.
The review report was part of the agenda of the AGM, where the road map for the IVSC journey was redrawn.
According to Tweedie the identity of the IVSC should be built upon two cornerstones: the creation of a strong valuation profession and global standard-setting of quality.
"The problem with the valuation profession is that, at the moment, is completely scattered. There are all sorts of credentials; nobody knows who the good guys are and who the cowboys are," he told The Accountant.
Financial instruments are the Achilles heel of valuation. Whereas business and real state valuation standards are more developed, financial instruments carry a rampant risk.
That’s the reason why the IVSC is creating a separate standard board only for financial instruments.
"I’ve spoken to Hans [Hoogervorst] and the IASB has been very helpful in offering to do anything they can, some of it would probably be more disclosure."
A year ago Tweedie warned the audience of the World Congress of Accountants in Rome that another financial crisis might be looming due to the lack of global valuation standards covering financial instruments.
Tweedie told The Accountant back then that when it comes to financial assets there is no global benchmark, and worse, there is almost no control.
He told us: "A bank could be showing, let’s say, 6% of equity ratio and anther bank with exactly the same assets could be showing 3%. That’s not acceptable. We don’t need that risk."
That risk, however, hasn’t been mitigated yet.
Read the full article: Standards to prevent another global financial meltdown
Related article: Tweedie and the valuation void: is another financial crisis looming?
