Imagine an insurance matter or legal dispute where a report has arrived assigning thousands of dollars to an asset. The consultant who prepared it knows the asset intimately. They understand its characteristics, its history and the market in which it might change hands. Their reputation has been earned over decades, and the client has every reason to respect their expertise.

As those with the report turn through the report’s few pages, their attention settles on the final figure. Then someone asks how it was reached, which definition of value applies, and whether the report is sufficiently robust to be relied upon. This is the question that is the distinction between specialist advice and professional valuation into focus.

Consultants are often outstanding specialists in their fields. Their experience helps clients understand assets, identify opportunities and make informed commercial decisions. Some have spent their working lives developing knowledge that would be difficult to replicate. That expertise deserves recognition, and it can make an important contribution to a valuation engagement.

Preparing a professional valuation report requires the practitioner to build on that knowledge. The task involves selecting an appropriate basis of value, assessing evidence, applying methodology and explaining the reasoning behind the conclusion. It also requires clarity about the valuation date, assumptions, limitations and people entitled to rely on the report.

For the client, these details matter most when the valuation supports financing, insurance, taxation, financial reporting, or a dispute. The person reading the report needs to understand what has been assessed, why the approach is appropriate and how the evidence supports the opinion expressed.  This is why a certified valuer and not a consultant should prepare the valuation report.

Considerable asset knowledge alone does not establish that a consultant can deliver a valuation that meets Australian professional standards and aligns with international frameworks. Even an experienced specialist may need to develop additional capabilities in valuation practice and reporting. The distinction concerns the professional discipline applied to the assignment.

Lawyers, lenders and insurers need to be confident the valuation report has enough substance to support a decision involving thousands of dollars. Where the reasoning is thin, assumptions are unclear, or evidence receives little explanation, the report falls short of what the client needs. Length itself proves little as the valuation report must be sufficiently complete for its purpose and complexity.

For an AVAA Certified Valuer (CVAu), that responsibility begins with the engagement. AVAA Professional Standard 14 – engagement and terms of appointment establishes clarity around the work being commissioned. Significantly, AVAA Professional Standard 15 – Valuation instructions and reliance addresses valuation instructions and reliance, helping define the intended use, relevant information and boundaries of the professional opinion.

The widely recognised AVAA Professional Standard 6 – Minimum Valuation Report Requirements establishes minimum valuation report requirements. Its practical value lies in giving the reader essential information to understand the assessment and its conclusion. A properly prepared report allows the reasoning to be examined, questions to be answered, and the opinion to be considered on its merits.

Certified valuers view AVAA Professional Standard 8 – Artificial intelligence in valuation reports as a key reference, along with AVAA Professional Standard 16 – Remote, desktop and technology-assisted valuations.  It’s unlikely that even a well-known consultant will understand these professional standards, or even meet their requirements.  Those with the respected CVAu credential appreciate that these standards of professional pride provide a practical foundation. Their work combines asset expertise with judgement, transparency and accountability. Behind the letters sits a commitment to maintaining competence and producing advice that clients can understand and use with confidence.

Experienced consultants have much to contribute to this community, and pursuing the CVAu credential offers a way to demonstrate that broader capability. For clients commissioning their next valuation, selecting an appropriately experienced AVAA Certified Valuer (CVAu) brings those professional expectations into the engagement from the outset. This allows lawyers, lenders and insurers to move beyond the figure to the quality of the work supporting it, with greater confidence in the decision that follows and the certified valuer entrusted to guide it.

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Interested In Finding Out More?

If you’d like more information on the AVAA Certified Valuer (CVAu), send an email to certification@avaa.com.au or telephone 1300 928 165.  You can also stay up to date by following AVAA on LinkedIn, X/Twitter and Facebook.
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