The Registro de Expertos Contables (REC), led by the Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de España (ICJCE) and the Consejo General de Economistas de España (CGE), presented in León a startup-valuing guide prepared by Professor Oriol Amat Salas, which proposes different valuation methods depending on the company’s development stage. The event also featured the closing remarks of Santiago Durán, president of the Instituto de Contabilidad y Auditoría de Cuentas (ICAC).
The document proposes analyzing the business, selecting the methods appropriate to the information available, and cross-checking their results before establishing a value range. It also examines financial projections and the impact of successive financing rounds on share value.
For Fernando Cuñado, president of REC, “this guide responds to a service that undoubtedly presents a good opportunity and prospect for our professionals. Startup valuation requires an approach different from that used for traditional companies, and with this document we provide accounting professionals a rigorous methodology, with practical cases, that will enable them to tackle these assignments with the highest technical rigor.
For his part, Salvador Marín, vice president of REC and president of Economistas Contables del Consejo General de Economistas de España (EC-CGE), noted that “valuing a startup defies one-size-fits-all recipes; there is little history, a lot of uncertainty, and each financing round changes the value of the equity. A poorly performed valuation can cost the entrepreneur a substantial portion of their company right at the first round. With this seventh guide, we provide accounting professionals a proven method for engagements where professional judgment clearly makes the difference.”
Official recognition of the accounting expert
Cuñado and Marín, during their remarks, stressed the opportunity and need to continue advancing the legal recognition of the accounting expert in Spain. They explained, “the European Union has recently approved measures to boost mutual recognition of professional accreditations among countries.” For Fernando Cuñado, president of REC, and Salvador Marín, vice president, “the risk that Spain will be left out of that process is real,” they warned. “We cannot be the only European country left out of this trend,” they affirmed. They also conveyed the support of ICJCE and CGE for this objective.
At the opening of the conference, Miguel Ángel Vázquez Taín, president of the Consejo General de Economistas de España, stressed that “the recognition of the accounting expert is not a corporate demand. It is a guarantee for companies, especially for SMEs, that need to identify with certainty who is accredited to prepare and interpret their financial information. Economists and auditors work together on this, hand in hand with the Administration, since this process lies at the very heart of the so-called general interest.”
In addition to this recognition, the day’s program addressed the major market trends in REC services. The session was led by Fernando Cuñado and Salvador Marín, moderated by Pilar Ramírez, a member of the REC’s Governing Board, and presented by Manuel Rodríguez Llanos, vice-dean of the Official College of Mercantile Title Holders of León.
The role of artificial intelligence in business
Víctor Alió, president of the Instituto de Censores Jurados de Cuentas de España (ICJCE), referred to the use of artificial intelligence in companies: “the one who does not invest in this technology will be left out of the market, but making multimillion-dollar investments or being the first to achieve a given technology does not automatically guarantee success.”
Alió explained that “AI, by all accounts, will be able to perform very complex valuations quickly and with little investment in human resources. But these valuations without someone who can interpret their results, the differences between various valuations, the biases they may carry, and many other elements, are not useful for decision-making.” And he added: “these interpretations can only be made by professionals like accounting experts, who bring training and independence. Therefore, while we must adapt to the new times, I believe we will continue to be needed and to develop new services.”
