It is our choice to either grow like a weed by emulating a plant or grow like a fruit bearing plant, that is preserved and nurtured by the society. In the same manner, society tend to preserve and nurture the profession, which are fruitful, trustworthy and available for resolving its concerns. Therefore, the professionals practicing in a particular profession, are required to fulfill their duties and functions as enshrined in that profession to be considered for rendering services by the society.
For a professional, reliability and competitiveness are pre-requisites for being selected to render services in accordance to the field of professional expertise. Whereas, competitiveness in a particular profession can be achieved by possessing the required qualification to enter that profession. But it is not enough, to remain competitive for that profession, it becomes imperative for a professional to keep on upgrading his/her professional skills and education through various trainings and other continuing professional development programs. Thus, a professional continues to be competitive for providing his services.
To practice as a professional, it is very vital to achieve the Reliability besides other attributes for being selected to render their services. Reliability generated through the responsiveness attained by showing promptness in professional deliverance. However, ethics and morality are the foundation for the Reliability, on which the entire edifice stands.
As per the International Valuation Standards (IVS), effective from 31 January, 2022, A “Valuer” is an individual, group of individuals or individual within an entity, regardless of whether employed (internal) or engaged (contracted/external), possessing the necessary qualifications, ability and experience to execute a valuation in an objective, unbiased, ethical and competent manner. In some jurisdictions, licensing is required before one can act as a valuer.
Being ethical and having moral principles in performing the professional dispensation, requirement of Transparency and Confidentiality is of paramount importance. Especially in Valuation Profession, the criticality arises when these two antonymic aspects are to be stressed upon. For this purpose, understanding Transparency and Confidentiality is important.
Transparency is about information. Transparency embodies honesty and open communication because to be transparent someone must be willing to share information when it is uncomfortable to do so. Transparency is also the professional being upfront and visible about the actions it takes and whether those actions are consistent with its values.
Transparency is about the limit to which disclosures are required to be made. For example, in a Valuation report, the disclosures for the purpose of transparency are but not limited to-
1. Client
2. Valuer
3. Other Stakeholders/ Authorities
4. Purpose
5. Interest with the Client or Project
As per IVS, the process of valuation requires the valuer to make impartial judgements as to the reliability of inputs and assumptions. For a valuation to be credible, it is important that those judgements are made in a way that promotes transparency and minimizes the influence of any subjective factors on the process. Judgement used in a valuation must be applied objectively to avoid biased analyses, opinions and conclusions.
Confidentiality in professional life is not only a good and necessary practice, it is also mandatory in some cases. Some professionals like lawyers, Valuers etc have a privileged relationship with their clients. Their clients trust them with sensitive information and they are legally mandated and ethically motivated to not disclose such information to third parties bar certain extenuating circumstances.
In Valuation practices, Valuers must not disseminate information provided in confidence by the client, beyond its stated purpose, or without prior informed consent. Valuers must consider whether, by supplying a detailed analysis of a transaction, they put themselves in breach of the valuation standards. Valuers are required to use their professional judgement as to what information they may share with their clients, and must be fully aware of the jurisdictional and requirements for protection of confidential information.
Author Bio
