Complete Appraisal – Summary Report
Although USPAP and the American Society of Appraisers specify a single format for written reports, many appraisers also offer a “summary report”. The Institute of Business Appraisers acknowledges this report in IBA BV Standard 4.1 and notes that “By its nature the letter form of report is an instrument of brevity. It should contain at least a summary of the material factors that led to its conclusions, but is usually intended by the parties [to the appraisal engagement contract] to reduce the normal appraisal burden of writing a comprehensive report, and thereby allow the client to realize some economic benefit. However, the appraiser is still required to perform materially the same investigation and analysis as would be required for a comprehensive report and maintain in his files the work papers necessary to support the conclusions stated in the letter form report.” Summary reports are usually 30 to 60 pages long and are used to support merger or acquisition activities, SBA or conventional financing, estate tax or gifting purposes, or any matter where the intended users are familiar with the subject to be valued.
