The Chairman of the International Association of Consultants, Valuators and Analysts (IACVA), Mr. James Catty, says there are fine prospects for business valuation in the country following establishment of the Ghana Charter of IACVA five years ago to facilitate business valuation capacity development in Africa. He said Ghana has gained the respect of the international business valuation community as a result of the exceptional knowledge and expertise members of the Ghana Charter have demonstrated in the past five years. The IACVA Chairman’s visit was in recognition of Ghana’s leadership in promoting the development of business valuation capacity in Africa through access to the appropriate body of knowledge, training, credentialing and networking. Mr. Catty said this at the just-ended two-day training course on “Intangible Assets, valuation and Impairment Testing under the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS)" in Accra, which attracted 50 professionals from the financial and professional services sectors as well as from industry. He said adoption of the IFRS by Ghanaian companies elevates them internationally and puts them at par with their counterparts in Europe and North America as their financial reports become consistent and internationally compliant. “It will make it easier to gain Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) and be able to sell shares to overseas companies. It will also make it easier for them to access financing on the international financial markets." he said. Mr. David Ofosu-Dorte, Managing Partner of AB David, said that adoption of the IFRS has necessitated need to review the Companies Code of 1963 (Act 179), as the provisions for capital do not take into consideration intangible assets. He praised IACVA for the programme which will offer professionals the needed knowledge and technical capacity to support companies in Ghana - including especially those in the professional services sector - to realise and record their full business values. He was of the view that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Ghana may be understated since most companies rely most on their tangible values in transactions. The full representation of intangible assets in the valuation of companies will enhance the GDP of Ghana far above the current levels, he added. Mr. Bennet Kpentey, President of the Ghana Charter of IACVA, said that adoption of the IFRS four years ago has come with capacity gaps as professionals such as accountants, auditors, valuers, bankers, investment and financial analysts have lacked the necessary capacity to effectively support business entities in Ghana on IFRS matters. He said business valuation and intangible assets are the key areas where there are capacity needs among professionals in the country to respond to the requirements of IFRS. He was hopeful that through the training, Ghanaian professionals will be better-equipped to value businesses and also test tangible assets for impairment as required under IFRS. Meanwhile, Mr. James Catty will as part of his visit facilitate a three-day training course for candidates taking the Certified Valuation Analyst (CVA) credential examination, the world-leading credential for business valuation professionals, in November this year. This will be the first time CVA credential examinations will be administered in Africa.