Equipment Appraisal Review
USPAP Standards 3 & 4 Appraisal Reviews of
Equipment Appraisal Reports & Business Asset Appraisal Reports
Credible equipment appraisal reports must be grounded in established industry standards and provide a logical presentation of evidence that supports an unbiased and defensible opinion of value. Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), which sets the standard of care for the appraisal profession in the United States, defines a credible appraisal as one that meets criteria in the 5 areas of accuracy, reasonableness, relevance, adequacy and completeness. Any appraisal that disregards professional standards cannot be depended upon in a court of law or any contentious situation.
Don’t take for granted that the equipment appraisal in a family law decision, a litigation case, or a business deal is worth the paper it’s printed on. When you’re counting on an opinion of value, consider an equipment appraisal review by an accredited appraisal review specialist to ascertain whether or not the value is based on evidence, research, logic, and reasonable assumptions and has been produced by a qualified equipment appraiser.
NorCal Valuation Inc. provides comprehensive equipment appraisal review services for attorneys, law firms, CPA firms and corporations, according to Standards 3 & 4 of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. The credibility of the appraisal under review is determined in conjunction with USPAP in the 5 areas of accuracy, reasonableness, relevance, adequacy and completeness.
Our machinery and equipment appraisal reviews are the work of Jack Young, an Accredited Senior Appraiser (ASA) in Appraisal Review & Management (ARM) Machinery & Technical Specialties, the designation awarded by the American Society of Appraisers to educated, experienced and qualified individuals in the specialized equipment appraisal review industry.
Jack is Appraisal Review and Management (ARM) Governor on American Society of Appraisers International Board of Governors, served ASA internationally as Chair of the International Appraisal Review & Management (ARM) subcommittee and as past editor of the Appraisal Review E-journal, published quarterly by the American Society of Appraisers (ASA); and served locally as ARM Director on the NorCal ASA Chapter Board. He developed and taught both the courses necessary for specialized ARM accreditation, as well as other ARM classes for ASA.
Jack Young
Accredited Senior Appraiser
(ASA—MTS/ARM, CPA)
Summary of Credentials
- American Society of Appraisers, Accredited Senior Appraiser
- MTS (Machinery and Technical Specialties)
- Appraisal Review & Management in Machinery and Equipment (ARM-MTS)
- California Board of Accountancy, Certified Public Accountant
Appraisal Review and ASA
The American Society of Appraisers continues to lead the area of Appraisal Review development and education for personal property appraisal disciplines, providing education, guidance and support in the field of Appraisal Review, a standardized methodology that provides guidelines for assessing the overall quality of an appraisal relative to applicable standards while concurrently addressing the degree to which that appraisal is credible, supportable, logical and persuasive. Appraisal Review is a critical component of both ASA’s and USPAP’s pervasive principle: to support public trust in the appraisal profession. Much like the accounting profession, the appraisal profession is largely self-regulating. Appraisal Review is one of the important quasi policing methods by which the appraisal profession conscientiously guides its members.
The fact that many appraisals do not meet USPAP criteria has been an issue of great concern since the late 1980’s (S&L crisis). The need for appraisal reviews become such a paramount issue on the world economic stage in 2008 (Great Recession) that 2 years later, Dodd-Frank legislation required appraisal reviews for loans and federally issued funds.
The issue of appraisal review, however, isn’t limited to real estate appraisals. Attorneys, whether in litigation, transactional, estate, tax or family law, can benefit from appraisal review when making important decisions based on an appraisal report of any property type, whether personal, real or intangible. In many situations, a review of an equipment appraisal report before the report is taken to court could eliminate unnecessary confusion, time and money.
Do You Need Another Opinion of Value?
It’s important to note that an appraisal review does not necessarily include an opinion of value to compare to the equipment appraisal being reviewed or a conclusive judgment on whether the equipment values in the report are “right.”
What an equipment appraisal review will provide is a judgment on whether or not the report under review contains sufficient convincing evidence that the conclusions reached are more likely than not to be reasonable. In other words, the appraisal reviewer will gauge the “comfort level” of the original appraisal report. If it is determined that the report lacks credibility, your reviewer can extend the scope of work to include an opinion of value.