RICS & CII hold conference on valuation

RICS & CII hold conference on valuation
HT Estates, August 29, 2009, Page 03

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) had organised a joint National Conference on “Valuations: The Emerging Road Map for India” with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on August 27, 2009. The conference highlighted the need to develop effective Valuation Standards and build a world class valuation profession in India.

Anshuman Magazine, Past Chairman, CII National Committee on Real Estate & Housing and CMD, CB Richard Ellis South Asia Pvt Ltd said: “In a globalized economy, valuations form the backbone that helps determine where to put in money and make investments. It is necessary to make valuation practices more robust to instil investor confidence in the system which will drive capital investments to India.

Professional valuations are vital to a healthy property market and a stable economy, forming the basis of performance analysis, financing decisions, transactional or development advice, dispute resolution, taxation and various statutory applications. And, the recent turbulence in global financial and property markets has turned the spotlight on valuers, valuation standards and methodology. This warrants efforts to be made to encourage the harmonization of standards and valuation qualifications across India.

Jitesh Khosla, OSD, Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs and formerly joint secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs Government of India said, “A distinct valuation discipline is emerging in India that needs to be taught properly with a structured knowledge input and develop its own professional code of conduct and standards to achieve a certain level of proficiency. Therefore, it is necessary to have standards pertaining to the International Valuation Standards (IVS) and International Financial Reporting Systems (IFRS) to measure quality.”

In an increasingly demanding market it is essential that valuations are presented to clients in a clear and unambiguous manner, thereby instilling trust and confidence. Robust practice standards form the basis of accurate and consistent valuations. While the need for a uniform valuation standard has been increasing felt by key stakeholders, up until now, there has been none available for adoption by the industry.

Sachin Sandhir, MD & county head, RICS India said: “Even as the developed countries indulge in a more sophisticated and complicated debate surrounding market value and fair value, India has a its unique issues to focus on while being aware of the happenings in the international arena.”