The field of business and intangible asset valuations has many of the elements of a profession. In recent years, comments by the SEC expressed concern about the structure of the business valuation profession and the lack of sufficient quality assurance procedures. As a result of these concerns, the Mandatory Performance Framework ("MPF") and Application of the Mandatory Performance Framework ("AMPF") documents were released in January 2017 to provide guidance including minimum performance standards and documentation requirements for certain financial reporting valuation projects. In mid-2017, the Certified in Entity and Intangible Valuations designation was made available to qualified business appraisers. This article provides an overview of various efforts to advance valuation quality over the years. An overview of the MPF and AMPF is provided as is a discussion of the CEIV designation and related requirements.
