RICS will host a conference on Tuesday 12 March, 17.30-18.30, at MIPIM 2013 titled ‘Minimizing risk and maximizing value in volatile markets: the role of International Standards’.The conference will examine how international standards – in valuation, property measurement and ethics – could support international financial reporting standards in achieving greater global financial stability.
The keynote address will be given by Jan Engström, a Board Member of the IFRS Foundation; and a panel of leading international property sector organization heads will debate how the sector can work together to improve transparency and accuracy, and boost investor confidence, through agreed, high-level standards.
RICS believes the growth of vibrant and sustainable property markets around the world is hindered by imperfections in the quality and transparency of information. A critical ingredient for success is the ability to compare opportunities on a like-for-like basis, relying on transparent, high quality data, backed by independent professional analysis.
Accurate financial reports rely on accurate asset valuations, which in turn require uniform property measurement principles to be observed. All of this needs to be underpinned by high level ethical standards observed by the professionals who carry out these tasks. Yet there is no single set of international standards for property measurement or ethical conduct in the sector; and international valuation standards, which do exist, are not widely enough adopted.
The conference in Cannes takes place ahead of a meeting hosted by the World Bank in Washington D.C. in May 2013, where RICS will convene a coalition of the leaders of some of the most highly respected professional bodies from around the world to plan the route to international property measurement standards.
Ken Creighton, RICS Director of Professional Standards, commented:
“This is a groundbreaking initiative which has the potential to deliver huge benefits, both to real estate markets and to the economies and the populations they support around the world, by creating a level playing field for the way property is measured, valued and ultimately reported in financial statements.“
Source: RICS
