A Message from Your 2016 President

By Christine Guernsey, ISA CAPP

At the end of every year, it is wise to reflect on where one has been, what one has accomplished and what one plans for the upcoming year. This sage advice was given to me years ago and works well for one’s personal, professional and organizational lives. When I remember the state of ISA when I joined years ago and contemplate the accomplishments our organization has made since, I am reminded as to why I am so extremely proud to be a member of this organization. I understand why ISA has become the premier professional personal property appraisal organization of choice.

The International Society of Appraisers continues to be the largest professional appraisal organization that consists solely of qualified and credentialed personal property appraisers. Our membership continues to grow with new talent coming from auction houses, galleries, museums and other appraisal-related industries. Our unparalleled methodology, pathway courses, Learning Management System—which allows students to learn online from anywhere in the world—our requalification program, and our culture of camaraderie all continue to gain ISA high industry respect. Our increasing ISA brand recognition with top insurance, estate, law and banking industry professionals, along with our now mobile-enhanced ISA website (including the Find An ISA Member feature) continually help to drive new appraisal assignments to our members.

In this past year, ISA leadership, led by our immediate past President Cindy Charleston-Rosenberg, ISA CAPP, our staff at Sentergroup and many of our dedicated ISA volunteers have listened to their fellow members and have been responsive to their requests and needs. As a result, hundreds of volunteer hours have been spent this last year developing new programs that will directly benefit our members in 2016.
Here are some highlights of those efforts:

• 2015 brought a focus on advancing the ISA brand through strategic partnerships with allied industries to bring recognition and value to our members. The reciprocal webinar series developed with Chubb Personal Insurance, Changing Demographics in Collecting: Covering Passion and Investment Collections, presented by Laura M. Doyle and Melissa Lalka, provided our members with one of our most successful and highly attended webinars. In return, ISA is currently in the process of developing an 11-part series focusing on the connoisseurship of ISA appraisers and collectible assets, to be presented to Chubb’s worldwide network of brokers, agents and collectors. This exchangeable concept, which will build ISA’s relationships with the “gatekeepers of appraisal-related services and referrers of assignments” will continue in 2016 with many more allied industry leaders.

• In an effort to better address the needs of our students and instructors, provide a forum for instructors to exchange ideas, and encourage the development of new courses in our educational offerings, we formed the ISA Instructor Committee. Already, exciting advancements have resulted from exchanges between this committee and the Board. We established a new requirement that ISA CAPP candidates submit a Broad Evidence appraisal report, in addition to passing our rigorous five-hour comprehensive examination in advanced appraisal methodology, practice and ethics. New courses have been added to our curriculum including Asian paintings, screens and ceramic courses; modernism courses featuring design, furniture, decorative arts, prints, multiples and photographs; along with an antiques and residential contents course to be taught in Toronto. There are also more options for taking the USPAP and requalification courses.

• The formation of the Circle of Trust (COT), an alliance between the main appraisal societies (ISA, AAA and ASA) deepened throughout 2015. The mission of the COT is to raise public and industry awareness of personal property appraisal credentialing and to create a demand for qualified personal property appraisers. COT attempts to protect the public from individuals who may be operating with bias, without proper training and who compete unfairly with our qualified appraisers. Press releases went out in November announcing this collaboration and have been picked up by the press as well as promoted throughout social media. Long term, the strength of our message will drive more and more business towards our credentialed qualified appraisers.
  
  The advancement of our educational qualifications criteria, including strict enforcement of our unique requalification standard, has not only assured the public that ISA appraisers remain relevant throughout their careers and are practicing the most current standards, but has also raised ISA’s standing among our peers and The Appraisal Foundation. It is important to stay steady in this course going forward for the benefit of all of our members and colleagues.

• Last but not least, Assets 2015 was a record-breaking annual conference with our highest attendance in history, selling out attendance space and sponsorship tables.
  
  Looking ahead to Assets 2016, coming up April 15-18 in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas, we are excited to see that registrations are trending ahead of last year. We are welcoming back long-time sponsors of our organization and bringing in new sponsors eager to partner with us.
  
  Our conference theme, Expanding Horizons, focuses on our ever-changing appraisal industry and finding new opportunities for our member’s appraisal practices. Attendees will gain insight into the new directions industry-related gatekeepers are taking with their clients and learn how ISA appraisers can collaborate with these industry trends for increased business. This year’s conference continues ISA’s tradition of bringing leading industry experts to our attendees. Be sure to check our ISA website for program and tour details. Don’t wait too long to register as this year’s conference is already predicting to be another sell-out.

There has never been a better time to be an ISA member! If we are all vigilant to keep a spirit of collaboration between all of our members (from all nine countries), make efforts to become involved, informed, and volunteer for committees to improve our organization, ISA will continue to thrive and gain respect. I look forward to working with all of you this upcoming year on projects that will make ISA better than ever in 2017.

Wishing you all a prosperous 2016,

Christine Guernsey, ISA CAPP
President

The "Circle of Trust" Deepens the Collaboration Between the Major Appraisal Organizations with the Development of Formal Mission and Vision Statements

By Cindy Charleston-Rosenberg, ISA CAPP

COT organization leaders, including
Christine Guernsey, ISA CAPP, President,
Cindy Charleston-Rosenberg, ISA CAPP,
Immediate Past President, and
Todd Sigety, ISA CAPP

One of the goals of ISA's three-year Strategic Plan is to advance ISA's industry standing among users of appraisal services. As part of this directive, ISA is committed to working with peer appraisal organizations to raise public awareness and demand for meaningful personal property appraising credentials.

To help guide this initiative and frame the overall scope, ISA, AAA and ASA have furthered our collaboration with the development of mission and vision statements, announced Monday in a joint public press release.   

The mission of the Circle of Trust (COT) is: "To raise public awareness of qualification standards for credentialed personal property appraisers who are members of The Appraisal Foundation sponsoring organizations." The concept of limiting participation in this collaboration to TAF sponsoring organizations is, that for sponsors, adherence to the AQB qualifying criteria will now be mandatory. This protects the public from individuals who may be practicing to a lower standard and without organizational accountability.

The next meeting of the COT organizational representatives will be in April at the ISA Annual Conference in Dallas/Fort Worth. At this meeting, the COT intends to move the mission forward with activities geared toward educating allied industry users. The participating organizations believe that as a result of our unified efforts to raise public awareness, informed consumers and allied professionals will recognize, and increasingly demand, meaningful personal property appraising qualifications.

I am proud to be ISA's member representative in this effort, and invite your ideas and comments. Please contact me at: info@artappraisalfirm.com or 215 346-2799.

ISA President Attends Valuation Profession Meeting in Chicago

The ISA is committed to working with fellow appraisal organizations and industry agencies to advocate for and advance the credentialed personal property appraiser.

On July 9-10, ISA President, Cindy Charleston-Rosenberg, ISA CAPP, was honored to attend a meeting with the International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC), hosted by the American Society of Appraisers and the Appraisal Institute in Chicago. Participants included representatives of 11 professional valuation organizations, assembled to discuss crucial topics facing the valuation profession around the world.

The IVSC is Chaired by Sir David Tweedie (center, front, Picture 3), former Chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board, renown for leading the successful effort to establish uniform international accountancy standards. President M. Lance Coyle, MAI, SRA, and CEO Frederick H. Grubbe, MBA, CAE, represented the Appraisal Institute.

Learn more about ISA's advocacy and collaboration efforts in the ISA President's New Year's Message from Cindy Charleston-Rosenberg.

Urgent News: Proposed Legislation in New York Would Strengthen the Ban on Ivory

Our colleague Lark Mason, of Mark Lason Associates and IGavel, has asked appraisal organizations to inform their members of new legislation being proposed in New York that would strengthen the ban on ivory to include criminal penalties. This legislation could have a significant impact on how ARC appraisers do business. Lark has provided the following information:

"This was unexpected, so let me be brief. The New York State Senate took up SB 4686 in recent days. As written, this bill would ban POSSESSION, sale, offering for sale, import and transportation of any part of an elephant, lion, leopard, black or white rhino. This is inconsistent with and would supersede the New York Ivory Ban already in place!

If you live in New York, visit www.elephantprotection.org. This page will give your state senator's phone number and some quick talking points. If you are not from New York, you can contact the state senator where you do business, travel, or have any other connection in New York. A full list of state senators can be found at www.nysenate.gov/senators.

If passed, this bill wipes out exemptions in the previous ivory ban and leaves musicians as exposed as everyone else. There is a narrow exemption for items possessed in New York prior to this act, but you need to get a certificate from the NY Secretary of State to qualify for this exemption. If you travel into New York with something that contains ivory, you're out of luck. Law enforcement is given sweeping new powers under this law, it is punishable by two years imprisonment, all items shall be seized, and upon conviction, destroyed.

Don't delay! Act now!"

Appraisal Organizations Unite in Campaign to Raise Profile of the Qualified Appraiser

As announced at Assets 2015 in Philadelphia, leadership and representatives of the three main appraisal organizations - The International Society of Appraisers, the American Society of Appraisers, and the Appraisers Association of America - have been meeting to discuss ways in which we might best work together in fellowship to protect and educate the public regarding meaningful qualification standards for appraisers.

On Monday, May 4, presidents of the three organizations released a joint statement to the media saying:

“We are proud to stand together, creating a circle of trust to protect the public by upholding the values, ethics, and credentials of each of our organizations through a demanding credentialing processes that includes training and testing of all members on valuation theory, professional methodologies, and product knowledge.”

ISA's participation in this effort has been endorsed by its Board of Directors as consistent with our mission: Advancing excellence in the personal property appraisal profession, and strategic goal of building ISA's industry standing through relationships with allied professionals.

The Appraisal Foundation estimates that approximately 80% of personal property appraisals are currently performed by individuals held to no standard of professional accountability. The intention of the "Circle of Trust" alliance is to collaborate on issues of importance to our industry and to promote public awareness and trust in our credentials.

In the press release, the three organizations strongly urge the public to verify the educational and experiential background of any appraiser prior to retaining their services and to be wary of red flags that indicate an appraiser may not be objective in conducting appraisals. These including charging for appraisals based on the appraised value of an item, or offering to purchase an item the appraiser has appraised.

ISA is proud of this ground-breaking partnership with our peer organizations, and looks forward working together to further this important initiative.   

Read the full press release.