New Delhi: Appreciating the needs of the profession and emerging diversities & complexities in valuation job, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has decided to start a Certificate Course on Valuation.

The course will be launched on 1st October, 2008 initially at New Delhi and Mumbai and thereafter at other cities.

"In the normal course, the auditor is always required to assess 'valuation' as an assertion while auditing the financial statements. It is difficult to imagine a Balance Sheet without valuation from a Chartered Accountant. Only a Chartered Accountant has the overall perspective of valuation in its totality. The education and training imparted to a CA in the varied areas of valuation - from traditional Business Valuation to the emerging Brand and IPR Valuation is recognized by the business world", said an official at the institute.

"Apart from knowledge of relevant laws and management perspective, Valuation requires core competence in the area of accounting/finance in general and valuation technique methodology in particular. That is why across the globe, Valuation primarily falls under the ambit of the accountancy profession. The Chartered Accountancy curriculum does provide knowledge in the above areas. The course on Valuation to be launched by ICAI is a step forward in the direction to enhance the competitive edge of its members in the global service market", the official added.

The curriculum of the valuation course will comprise of 4 modules:

- Overview of Valuation
- Valuation Techniques
- Corporate Laws & Income Tax Implications
- Application of Valuation Techniques & Project Presentation.

Apart from the theoretical as well as all the valuation modalities, the course will hone the expertise of the ICAI members through multiple case studies across the industry and service sectors like pharmaceuticals, retail, manufacturing, banking, insurance, valuation, mining, infrastructure, private equity valuation, and cross-border transactions.

The course is targeted towards the members, either already or prospectively, in Valuation/ Strategic Financial Management and Cross Border Transactions.

"In India, there is no such course which can be compared with this 100-hours comprehensive curriculum. Though some management institutes are providing short-term courses for MBAs but the course curriculum of such courses is not so focused as to deal with the valuation job in the changing global scenario", the ICAI said.

The Harvard University and other Universities in USA, UK and Canada have designed some courses for management professionals on Business Analysis and Valuation.

The Royal Institute of Certified Surveyors (RICS) and similar Institutes in USA and UK are providing short-term courses on valuation to their members only.

However, the ICAI has conceptualized the course as to be the best in this area and the curriculum has accordingly been designed.

The participants will be made to go through intensive and focused training in this highly specialized area.