For a Chartered Accountant who wants to move into business valuation, registration with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) as a Registered Valuer in the Securities or Financial Assets asset class is a regulated professional route, not just an examination credential. It combines eligibility, relevant post-membership experience, membership of a Registered Valuers Organisation (RVO), a prescribed course, the IBBI valuation examination and a separate registration application.
The governing law is the Companies (Registered Valuers and Valuation) Rules, 2017. The examination process is explained in IBBI's FAQs on Valuation Examinations, which apply with effect from 1 May 2024.
Is a Chartered Accountant eligible?
Yes. Annexure IV to the Rules lists the qualifications for each asset class. For Securities or Financial Assets it names members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the Institute of Company Secretaries of India and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India, an MBA or PGDBM with specialisation in finance, and a postgraduate in finance. The experience prescribed for this asset class is three years.
Rule 4 sets out three routes to meet the qualification and experience test:
| Route under Rule 4 | Experience required |
|---|---|
| Postgraduate degree or diploma in the specified discipline | At least three years |
| Bachelor's degree in the specified discipline | At least five years |
| Membership of a professional institute established by an Act of Parliament, such as ICAI | At least three years after such membership |
Two points follow for a CA. First, the three years run from the date of ICAI membership, not from the date of passing the final examination. Second, the experience must be in the specified discipline relevant to the asset class. Three calendar years in statutory audit or tax compliance will not automatically count; the work profile and the evidence behind it matter.
The other eligibility conditions in Rule 3
Qualification and experience are only part of the test. Rule 3 also requires the individual to:
- be a valuer member of an RVO and be recommended by that RVO for registration;
- have passed the valuation examination under Rule 5 within three years preceding the date of the application;
- be a person resident in India as defined under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, not be a minor, of unsound mind or an undischarged bankrupt;
- not have been convicted of an offence punishable with imprisonment exceeding six months or involving moral turpitude, with a five-year gap after the sentence where it applies, and not have an unresolved penalty under section 271J of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which is the provision the Rule refers to; and
- be a fit and proper person, judged on integrity, reputation and character, absence of convictions, and competence and financial solvency.
The practical consequence: passing the examination does not by itself make anyone a Registered Valuer. It is one stage in a longer registration process.
The route, step by step
IBBI's examination FAQs describe the sequence as: check eligibility, seek primary membership of an RVO, undergo a mandatory 50-hour educational course conducted by the RVO, enrol for the valuation examination in the chosen asset class, receive the pass certificate, and then apply for registration.
1. Map your qualification and experience
Before paying for a course or an examination slot, prepare a chronology from your ICAI membership date and identify the roles and assignments that support experience in securities or financial assets valuation. Useful evidence includes employment records, engagement letters, role descriptions, valuation reports and transaction advisory work papers. If the position is unclear, confirm the interpretation with the RVO before going further.
2. Join an RVO for the right asset class
Take primary membership of an RVO recognised for Securities or Financial Assets. Do not pick an RVO only for convenient training dates. Understand its membership documents, course schedule and the process by which it recommends members for registration, because the recommendation is itself a Rule 3 condition.
3. Complete the 50-hour educational course
The FAQs make the 50 hours of training by the RVO mandatory, and the Training Completion Certificate is required at the time of enrolling for the examination. A CA may already be comfortable with financial statements, but the course should be used to build the valuation-specific skills that the examination and the work demand: cash flow forecasting, cost of capital, market approaches, documentation of assumptions and professional ethics.
4. Take the Securities or Financial Assets examination
The examination is computer-based and held at designated test centres on all days. Its pattern, as set out in the FAQs:
| Feature | Detail |
|---|---|
| Questions | 87: 74 of 1 mark and 13 of 2 marks (100 marks in total) |
| Duration | 2 hours |
| Pass mark | 60% and above |
| Negative marking | 25% of the marks for each wrong answer |
| Fee | ₹5,000 plus GST, that is ₹5,900 |
| Attempts | Any number, with a cooling-off period of 21 days between two consecutive attempts |
Rule 5 describes the examination as testing professional knowledge, skills, values and ethics in valuation, and requires the syllabus to be published at least three months before the examination. Use the syllabus on IBBI's examination page rather than an old coaching note.
How negative marking changes the result. Candidate A answers every question: 62 of the 1-mark questions and 10 of the 2-mark questions correctly, and gets 12 one-mark and 3 two-mark questions wrong. The raw score is 62 + 20 = 82; the deduction is 25% of (12 + 6) marks, or 4.5; the final score is 77.5, a pass. Candidate B also answers everything but gets only 50 one-mark and 8 two-mark questions right, with 24 one-mark and 5 two-mark wrong. The raw score of 66 falls by 8.5 marks (25% of 34) to 57.5, a fail. Guessing on questions you cannot narrow down carries a real cost.
5. Apply for registration in Form A
Under Rule 6, an eligible individual applies in Form A with a non-refundable fee of ₹5,000. IBBI must decide within sixty days of receiving the application, excluding the time given for presenting additional documents. If it forms a prima facie opinion that registration should not be granted, it communicates the reasons within forty-five days and the applicant may submit an explanation within fifteen days.
Because Rule 3 requires the examination to have been passed within the three years preceding the application, the pass certificate has a practical shelf life for registration purposes. A CA who passes in October 2025 should apply well before October 2028.
After registration: conditions that continue
Registration comes with continuing obligations under Rule 7. A registered valuer must keep meeting the eligibility and qualification conditions, comply with the law and the RVO's bye-laws, value only the asset classes for which registration is held, keep records of each assignment for at least three years from its completion, and comply with the Code of Conduct.
Rule 8 also prescribes what a valuation report must contain, including the background, the purpose of valuation, the valuer's identity and any conflict of interest, the appointment and valuation dates, inspections carried out, sources of information, the procedures adopted, the major factors considered and caveats. Until valuation standards are notified, valuers follow internationally accepted valuation standards or those adopted by an RVO.
Worked timeline for a CA
Suppose a CA became an ICAI member in July 2021 and has worked since August 2021 in a transaction advisory team on equity valuation, financial modelling and purchase-price analyses.
- July 2024: three years after membership are complete. Because the work since August 2021 is valuation work, the experience test for the asset class is likely met by around August 2024, subject to documentary evidence.
- The CA joins an RVO, completes the 50-hour course and receives the Training Completion Certificate.
- October 2025: passes the examination. The three-year window in Rule 3 runs until October 2028.
- The RVO recommends the CA, and the Form A application is filed with the fee of ₹5,000. IBBI decides within sixty days, excluding time for additional documents.
Checklist before you start
- Confirm your ICAI membership date and build an experience timeline from it.
- List the roles or assignments that show securities or financial assets valuation experience.
- Choose an RVO recognised for the correct asset class.
- Complete the 50-hour course and keep the completion certificate.
- Study the current IBBI syllabus and plan for negative marking.
- After passing, track the three-year window for applying.
- Keep qualification, membership, experience and identity documents ready for the RVO and IBBI stages.
Common mistakes
- Counting three years from passing the CA final instead of from the membership date.
- Assuming any three years of work counts, without experience in the specified discipline.
- Booking the examination before joining an RVO and finishing the course.
- Treating the pass certificate as registration.
- Choosing the wrong asset class because the candidate works in finance generally.
- Passing the examination and then letting the three-year window lapse.
Updated on 27 September 2026: added the Rule 4 routes, the full Rule 3 conditions, the examination pattern, fee and negative marking with worked scores, the Form A fee and decision timelines, and the post-registration conditions in Rules 7 and 8.
