Standards Standards

By Eva Lang - The most talked about issue at the recent AICPA Business Valuation Conference in New Orleans had to be the new AICPA Business Valuation Standards. Definitely a "top of mind" concern for CPAs who face implementing the new standard officially know as Statement on Standards for Valuation Services No. 1 (SSVS No. 1) “Valuation of a Business, Business Ownership Interest, Security, or Intangible Asset” on January 1, 2008. This concern was reflected in the questions asked in the general session at the conference devoted to this topic. Moderated by Ed Dupke, the panelists who included Jim Alerding, Mike Crain, and Jim Hitchner, answered questions about implementation and the potential conflicts with standards of other appraisal organizations. The session was very informative as moderator and panelists had all been involved in drafting the standards and could speak to the intent of standard.

As with many issues, it became clear in this session that many concerns about onerous requirements to meet the standards or conflicts with other standards were unfounded. The standards codify the practices that most good practitioners already have in place and a careful reading of the standard shows it to be compatible with current valuation practices.

The full text of the standard along with information on implementation can be found on in the Business Valuation and Litigation Services Center on the AICPA web site.

Link: http://bvfls.aicpa.org/NR/rdonlyres/672E1DD4-2304-47CA-8F34-8C5AA64CB008/0/SSVS_Full_Version.pdf