The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors aims is to raise professional standards, improve confidence for clients and help secure the accurate valuations that underpin most economic activity.
It wants all members involved in the valuation of commercial and residential property and specialist areas such as rural property, plant and equipment, personal and business property along with mineral asset valuations to have their competence monitored on a continuing basis to satisfy clients, and public authorities that RICS is able to properly regulate its members in a testing environment.
It also wants to introduce an accreditation scheme for RICS valuers which will provide a recognisable 'kitemark' covering the method and practice of valuations and require re-accreditation every three years.
The organisation said that there is an even greater public demand for measures that ensure that markets and other stakeholders can have the highest level of confidence in the competence and probity of professionals working in key sectors of the economy.
'The value of property is the key component which underpins economic activity. It is vital that there is an effectively regulated gold standard for valuation across the globe which inspires public confidence in the profession,' said RICS spokesman Mark Gerold.
'The economic and social importance of all property assets can not be underestimated especially towards wealth generation in a functioning economy. The current financial turmoil highlights the need for raising standards to ensure a stabilising foundation for future economic development,' he added.
