The last 18 months have felt like a pressure-test for the valuation profession. A volatile macro backdrop, rising and then sticky interest rates, a slowing real-estate cycle in parts of the UK, and rapid technological change has exposed fault lines in how assets are priced, governed and stress-tested. At the same time regulators and standards-setters have moved from polite encouragement to explicit scrutiny: the old rules of thumb are being replaced by firmer requirements around independence, transparency and model governance.
Two regulatory trends are particularly consequential. First, professional standards are being tightened. RICS’s refreshed Red Book (the Global Valuation Standards) which takes effect in 2025 tightens reporting, competence and disclosure expectations for valuers operating in the UK market. That change brings renewed focus on documentation, scope of work, and the independence of judgment in complex or thinly traded markets.
Second, financial regulators notably the FCA and the PRA have elevated valuation practices to a systemic-risk issue. The FCA’s work on private market valuations flagged governance weaknesses in funds and valuation committees, and warned firms that conflict management and independent oversight must improve if investor confidence is to be preserved. The PRA’s recent reporting and business plans likewise underline the expectation that prudential valuations and stress frameworks be robust and auditable across banks and insurers. Where valuations feed capital, provisioning or investor returns, regulators are signalling they will intervene.
The valuation profession is being asked to modernise without losing its soul. Speed, scale and algorithmic sophistication are inevitable and useful, but they do not absolve the industry from its core responsibility: producing independent, well-reasoned estimates that stand up to scrutiny in good times and bad. The next era will reward firms that combine rigorous governance, transparent modelling, and muscular professional judgement. Those that treat valuation as a peripheral exercise will find themselves answering uncomfortable questions from auditors, trustees and ultimately regulators.
In this edition, we have featured insights from Dr. Artur Golban, Deputy Director of General Compliance and Internal Control, Victoriabank LW and Maria Azinhal, Compliance Deputy Manager at Caixa Geral de Depósitos. We have also showcased the in-depth, data-driven insights into future outcomes that Business Valuation International (BVINT) has been offering to help businesses manage risk, shape strategy, and secure funding.
