ESG Factors and Intangible Assets to Reframe how Businesses will be Valued

The IVAS-IVSC Business Valuation Conference 2021 examines the opportunities and implications of these new drivers of Business Valuation 

Singapore, 6 October 2021 – The IVAS-IVSC Business Valuation Conference 2021 themed, ‘Reframing Valuations: Intangibles, ESG and Long-Term Value', examines the opportunities and implications of these new drivers of Business Valuation. 

New Opportunities

2.     In her opening address, Ms Indranee Rajah, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office, and Second Minister for Finance and National Development, said that Business Valuation and sustainability are growth areas. She also shared updates on the Singapore IP Strategy 2030 (SIPS 2030) and the Singapore Green Plan. These developments present opportunities for the Business Valuation profession in relation to Intangible Assets (IA), Intellectual Property (IP), and green finance. (Please click here for Minister Indranee Rajah’s speech)

Implications

Setting International Standards

3.     As IA and ESG factors shape business and investment decisions, consistent standards are needed on the international level. To this end, the Institute of Valuers and Appraisers, Singapore (IVAS) has brought key international Valuation Professional Organisations (VPOs) together to form an international working group to address some of these issues. Mr Harsha Basnayake (CVA), IVAS Council Chairman, and EY Asia-Pacific Deputy Area Managing Partner, said, “The international working group will develop a list of ESG and IA-related disclosures that impact enterprise value; work with standard-setters to include ESG and IA-related disclosures as part of global reporting requirements; and develop a set of ESG and IA valuation guidelines aligned to the International Valuation Standards.” These VPOs include the American Society of Appraisers (ASA), the Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators (CBV Institute), and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) with the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) as an observer.  IVAS is also working with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) to implement SIPS 2030 by developing IA and IP valuation guidelines that are interoperable with other jurisdictions, and based on international valuation standards; and building a pipeline of IA and IP valuation experts. (Please click here for Mr Harsha Basnayake’s speech)

4.     Mr Alistair Darling, Chairman, Board of Trustees, International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), the global valuation standards setter, cited the need for “reliable ESG metric reporting that is consistent between companies, across geographies, and over time.” He said, “A number of international organisations are now looking at how ESG is presented in financial information – including the International Financial Reporting Foundation, The CFA Institute, and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group. The IVSC is working with all entities to share our expertise and insights from the valuation profession.” (Please click here for Mr Alistair Darling’s speech)

Rising demand for certified Business Valuation professional

5.     Market demand for certified Business Valuation professionals is set to rise as Business Valuation develops as a growth area. There are currently 220 Chartered Valuer and Appraiser (CVA) Charter Holders from Singapore and eight countries, namely, Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. 

6.     The CVA programme is Asia’s first professional Business Valuation programme benchmarked against international standards advocated by IVSC. IVAS runs the 18-month programme in collaboration with the Nanyang Technological University (NTU).

IVAS-IVSC Business Valuation Conference 2021

7.   The two-day conference (6 - 7 October), held virtually in Singapore, will feature 43 speakers and panelists, and attracted over 900 participants from Singapore and 26 countries.

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For more information, please contact:

Tan Junming
Senior Manager, Corporate Communications
Singapore Accountancy Commission
Tel: 6325 0514 / 9738 8445
Email: Tan_Junming@sac.gov.sg

About Singapore Accountancy Commission:

The Singapore Accountancy Commission (SAC) spearheads the development of the Singapore accountancy sector with the vision of developing Singapore into a leading global accountancy hub. SAC is working to achieve this by deepening the skills of the accountancy talent pool; developing the industry to capture growth opportunities; and creating a hub and exchange by building Singapore into a centre for thought leadership. SAC is a statutory body under the Ministry of Finance. For more information, please visit www.sac.gov.sg. 

About Institute of Valuers and Appraisers, Singapore (IVAS):

Established under the umbrella of the Singapore Accountancy Commission, the Institute of Valuers and Appraisers, Singapore (IVAS) seeks to foster professional excellence in the areas of business valuation, and develop Singapore into a Centre of Excellence for business valuation through:

•    Development of competency frameworks;
•    Promotion of professional valuation standards;
•    Setting of ethical and professional standards of practice;
•    Contributions in thought leadership, research and development;
•    Provision of quality education and training curriculum; and
•    Promotion of professional qualification and certification in business valuation

Through these initiatives, IVAS will seek to broaden the talent pool, deepen the expertise of business valuation professionals, uphold the public trust in the role they perform and enhance the reputation of the business valuation profession in the region. For more information, please visit www.sac.gov.sg.

About International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC):

The International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) is an independent, not-for-profit organisation that produces and implements universally accepted standards for the valuation of assets across the world in the public interest. The IVSC consists of representatives from a wide range of sectors, including professional valuation institutes, valuation providers, standard setters, regulators of valuation services and academia. The organisation’s mission is to establish and maintain effective, high-quality international valuation and professional standards, and to contribute to the development of the global valuation profession, thereby serving the global public interest. For more information, please visit https://www.ivsc.org.