The World’s economic activities have become severely affected since February due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Governments have imposed travel bans, quarantine measures and various business operating restrictions to limit the spread of the virus. This has resulted in unprecedented elevated market volatilities. Stock market indices fluctuations of +/-10% daily are not uncommon. In valuation practice, volatility is translated as risk and a key parameter in pricing an asset. However, quantifying such risk is challenging as the situation is still developing, and there are no clear indications as to when the pandemic will subside.

In response to the increasing demands for building consensus within the valuation industry, various valuation guidelines have been developed to suit different purposes, and to cater different needs. Among them the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation (IPEV) Guidelines and International Valuation Standards (IVS) are two of the most widely adopted standards in the private equity investments and accounting practices respectively.