IVS 2025: what changed and how to update your templates

The International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) issued the current edition of the International Valuation Standards on 31 January 2024, with mandatory application from 31 January 2025. Early adoption was permitted. For most valuers the change is less about new valuation theory and more about structure, evidence and documentation: the standards now set out, chapter by chapter, how a valuation should be scoped, evidenced, modelled, controlled and reported.

1. A new architecture for the General Standards

The General Standards now follow the order in which a valuation is performed: IVS 100 Valuation Framework, IVS 101 Scope of Work, IVS 102 Bases of Value, IVS 103 Valuation Approaches, IVS 104 Data and Inputs, IVS 105 Valuation Models and IVS 106 Documentation and Reporting. Three chapters are new (104, 105 and 106), and the bases of value and the approaches have moved to new numbers.

Practical consequence: any engagement letter, report template, internal manual or review checklist that cites IVS paragraph numbers needs to be re-referenced. Compliance with IVS still means applying the General Standards, the relevant Asset Standards and their appendices together; where law or regulation conflicts with IVS, the legal requirement prevails and the departure must be explained.

2. Valuer principles and quality control (IVS 100)

IVS 100 opens with four valuer principles: ethics, competency, compliance and professional scepticism. The valuer must apply an appropriate level of professional scepticism at every stage, and must disclose that IVS were used and complied with.

IVS 100 also requires valuation process quality controls. Their extent depends on the intended use, the intended users, the asset and the complexity of the valuation. The controls should test the judgements made for reasonableness and freedom from bias, should be documented in enough detail for another valuer to understand them, and should be reassessed periodically. The underlying idea is valuation risk: the possibility that a value is not appropriate for its intended use.

3. Data and inputs (IVS 104)

IVS 104 asks the valuer to maximise the use of observable data and to judge whether data are fit for use, balancing four characteristics: accurate, complete, timely and transparent. Inputs (the data, assumptions and adjustments actually used) must be selected from relevant data in the context of the asset, the scope of work, the method and the model. If the valuer relies on a specialist or service organisation for data, their capabilities must be checked and documented first.

Environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors are now part of this discussion across all asset types: significant ESG factors should be considered where they are relevant and measurable, and reported as inputs where they affect value.

4. Valuation models (IVS 105)

For the first time IVS treats the model as a subject in its own right. A valuation model is a quantitative implementation of a method that converts inputs into outputs. Models must be suitable for the intended use, consistent with the inputs and tested so that the accuracy of their output is appropriate. Whether a model is built in-house or sourced externally, the valuer must apply professional judgement and scepticism to its selection and use. The glossary also defines an automated valuation model (AVM): a model that runs without the valuer exercising judgement over its inputs or outputs.

5. Documentation and reporting (IVS 106)

IVS 106 brings record-keeping and reporting together. Documentation must explain the significant judgements made, so that the work is consistent, transparent and comparable. A valuation report must cover, at minimum: the scope of work, the asset or liability valued, the valuer, the client, the intended use and users, currencies, the valuation date, the basis of value, the approaches, methods and models used, significant data and inputs (including ESG inputs), significant assumptions, the findings of any specialist, the value and the reasons for it, a statement of IVS compliance and the date of the report.

6. Valuations and valuation reviews

The standards now separate a valuation from a valuation review in both scope and reporting. A review is a valuation process review, a value review, or both, and the scope of work must say which. A review is not itself a valuation; if the reviewer provides a value, that part becomes a valuation.

7. Asset standards

The asset standards were aligned with the new General Standards. IVS 200 Businesses and Business Interests clarifies the perimeter of what is valued and the adjustments expected in the income approach. IVS 210 Intangible Assets streamlines its guidance on economic life. IVS 220 Non-Financial Liabilities and IVS 230 Inventory were updated, IVS 300 now explicitly covers infrastructure alongside plant and equipment, IVS 400 and IVS 410 were aligned on data, models, ESG and documentation, and IVS 500 Financial Instruments adds requirements on data, models and quality control.

Updating your templates: a checklist

• Engagement letter: record the basis of value, intended use and users, and whether the work is a valuation or a review, with IVS 2025 references.

• Data log: for each significant input, note the source, whether it is observable, and why it is accurate, complete, timely and transparent enough.

• Model file: document the model’s purpose, testing, version and any external provider, and who reviewed the outputs.

• Quality control: record who challenged the key judgements and what changed as a result.

• ESG: state which ESG factors were considered, which were significant and how they were reflected.

• Report: check the IVS 106 minimum contents and include a clear statement of compliance.

What comes next

In January 2026 the IVSC released an exposure draft of the next edition, proposed to take effect on 31 January 2028, with comments due by 30 April 2026. Proposals include a new IVS 107 Quality Controls, requirements where AI or other technology-based tools are used significantly, and merging IVS 410 Development Property into IVS 400. Until a new edition takes effect, IVS 2025 remains the standard to apply.

Sources: International Valuation Standards (effective 31 January 2025); IVSC update webinar slides (March 2024); IVSC exposure draft summary for IVS effective 31 January 2028 (January 2026). This article is an educational summary, not a substitute for the official text.

Read our IVS 2025 guide →