- What Is the ABV Certification?
- Who Issues ABV and Who Pursues It
- Exam Format and Delivery
- The Two ABV Exam Domains
- Registration, Fees, and Scheduling Mechanics
- Eligibility Pathways: CPA vs. Finance Professional
- Maintaining the Credential
- Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Two Domains
- Frequently Asked Questions
- ABV consists of two separately purchased 90-question modules, each weighted 50% of the total content.
- Both modules must be passed within 12 months of passing the first one attempted.
- Registration runs USD 175-275 per module, with one retake included per purchase.
- Candidates can sit the exam before finishing the CPD and experience requirements.
What Is the ABV Certification?
Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) is a specialty credential focused on business valuation practice - the theory, methods, and judgment used to estimate the value of a business, ownership interest, or security. It is administered by AICPA & CIMA, and it signals that the holder has demonstrated competency across the full arc of valuation work, from selecting an appropriate theoretical framework to executing and defending a valuation conclusion.
Unlike broad-based accounting exams, ABV is narrowly scoped to valuation. That narrowness is exactly why the exam blueprint is so compact: two content areas, split evenly, with no filler domains diluting the testing time. If you're still deciding whether this credential fits your career path, the deeper breakdown at Is the ABV Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 walks through the tradeoffs in more depth.
Who Issues ABV and Who Pursues It
ABV is issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, through AICPA & CIMA. That lineage matters for two reasons: it ties the credential to AICPA membership requirements, and it means the body of knowledge is built around professional standards that valuation practitioners are expected to know cold, not just recognize.
People who pursue ABV typically work in or around:
- Public accounting firms with a business valuation or litigation support practice
- Boutique valuation firms serving M&A, estate, and gift-tax clients
- Corporate finance and FP&A roles that require internal valuation work for financial reporting
- Litigation and forensic accounting teams needing valuation opinions for disputes
For a closer look at where ABV holders actually land and what the credential opens up day-to-day, see ABV Jobs. If you're still untangling the acronym itself from other credentials that share the same three letters, start with What Is ABV? and ABV Meaning before going further.
Exam Format and Delivery
The ABV exam is delivered as two separately purchased computer-based modules. Each module contains 90 multiple-choice questions, and both are offered year-round through Kryterion test centers or remote proctoring - meaning you're not locked into a handful of testing windows each year.
Key mechanics to understand before you register:
- Modules can be taken in either order - there's no mandatory sequence.
- Once you pass the first module, you have 12 months to pass the second.
- Formulas and variable definitions are provided during testing - you don't need to memorize every formula cold, but you do need to know when and how to apply each one.
- Results are reported as pass/fail, with no scaled score published to candidates.
Because scoring is binary, understanding exactly what "passing" requires matters more than chasing a percentile. That's covered in detail in ABV Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass. And if you're weighing how tough the two modules really are relative to other credentials, How Hard Is the ABV Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026 and ABV Pass Rate 2026: What the Data Shows are worth reading before you commit to a test date.
The Two ABV Exam Domains
The current blueprint, effective October 1, 2020, divides the exam into exactly two content areas, each carrying 50% of the total questions across the two modules.
Domain 1: Foundation of Valuation Theory (50%)
This domain tests whether you understand the conceptual underpinnings of valuation before any numbers get plugged in - the "why" behind a valuation assignment.
- Engagement setup: defining the assignment, standards of value, and premise of value
- Applicable professional standards governing valuation engagements
- Economic, industry, and company-specific analysis that frames a valuation
- Normalization adjustments and understanding financial statements for valuation purposes
- Selecting an appropriate valuation approach given the facts of the engagement
Domain 2: Implementation of Valuation Methods (50%)
This domain tests execution - actually carrying out the valuation once the theoretical groundwork is set.
- Income approach mechanics: discounting and capitalizing economic benefit streams
- Market approach mechanics: guideline public company and transaction methods
- Asset-based approach application where relevant
- Discounts and premiums (control, marketability) and their proper application
- Reaching, documenting, and reporting a defensible valuation conclusion
Key Takeaway
Because the two domains are weighted identically, you cannot afford to treat one module as "the easy one." Foundation-of-theory questions and implementation questions each carry equal weight toward the pass/fail outcome for their respective module.
Since the exam splits so cleanly into theory versus execution, it helps to study each domain with distinct techniques - theory questions reward familiarity with standards and framing language, while implementation questions reward repeated practice building out calculations. A full domain-by-domain breakdown, including how question styles differ between the two, is available in ABV Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 2 Content Areas.
Registration, Fees, and Scheduling Mechanics
Each module is registered and paid for separately, with published pricing of USD 175-275 per module depending on AICPA membership status and applicable discounts applied at checkout. Because pricing varies by membership tier, it's worth confirming your exact cost before budgeting for both modules.
A few mechanics that affect how you plan your testing timeline:
- One retake is included with each exam purchase, so a failed attempt doesn't automatically require a brand-new registration fee.
- Testing is available year-round rather than in fixed windows, since delivery runs through Kryterion test centers and remote proctoring continuously.
- The 12-month clock between your first passed module and the deadline to pass the second is the single most important scheduling constraint - miss it, and you may need to retake the module you already passed.
For a line-by-line cost breakdown and scheduling logistics, see ABV Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown and ABV Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Eligibility Pathways: CPA vs. Finance Professional
ABV has two eligibility pathways, both of which sit on top of a shared baseline: AICPA membership in good standing and 75 valuation-related CPD hours completed within the preceding five years.
| Requirement | CPA Pathway | Finance Professional Pathway |
|---|---|---|
| Base credential | Valid, unrevoked CPA license or certificate | Bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited institution |
| Valuation experience | 1,500 hours within five years | 4,500 hours within five years |
| Additional coursework | None beyond shared CPD requirement | AICPA Professional Conduct and Standards Education for Finance Professionals, completed within 30 days of application |
| Shared requirements | AICPA membership, 75 valuation-related CPD hours (5 years) | AICPA membership, 75 valuation-related CPD hours (5 years) |
Because the two pathways diverge so sharply on experience hours (1,500 versus 4,500), confirming which route applies to you should be the very first step in planning - before you even schedule a module. The full eligibility rules, including how CPD hours are counted and verified, are detailed in ABV Requirements 2026: Eligibility, Prerequisites & How to Qualify.
Maintaining the Credential
Passing both modules is not the end of the obligation. To keep ABV active, credential holders must maintain:
- Continued AICPA membership in good standing
- 60 valuation-related CPD hours every three years, with a minimum of 10 hours annually
- Four professional-ethics hours every three years
The annual minimum matters as much as the three-year total - it prevents holders from cramming all their CPD into a single year and then going dark. If you're mapping out a long-term plan around the credential rather than just the exam itself, this recertification rhythm should factor into how you schedule ongoing valuation training.
Sequencing Your Preparation Around the Two Domains
Generic study advice - spaced repetition, timed practice blocks, active recall - works for any exam. What makes preparation for ABV specific is how you allocate that generic method across exactly two equally weighted domains rather than five or six.
Foundation of Valuation Theory
- Build familiarity with standards of value, premise of value, and engagement scoping language
- Practice identifying which valuation approach fits a given fact pattern before calculating anything
Implementation of Valuation Methods
- Drill income, market, and asset-based approach calculations using the formulas provided during testing
- Practice applying discounts and premiums correctly in context, not just computing them in isolation
Integrated Review
- Run full-length practice sets that mix both domains, since the real modules won't separate theory from implementation for you
- Revisit weaker domain last, since it carries equal weight regardless of which module you sit first
Because formulas are supplied on screen, memorization matters less than pattern recognition - knowing which formula applies to which scenario, and why. A structured week-by-week plan built specifically around this two-domain split is laid out in ABV Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and a condensed one-page review of the highest-value facts is available in the ABV Cheat Sheet 2026: One-Page Review of Must-Know Facts. You can also run realistic practice questions covering both domains at ABV Exam Prep's practice test platform to gauge readiness before you spend money on an actual module registration.
Key Takeaway
Because retakes and module purchases cost money, use full-length practice tests to confirm domain-level readiness before registering - it's cheaper to find weak spots in practice than in a real module attempt.
Frequently Asked Questions
Two. Each module contains 90 multiple-choice questions, is purchased and scheduled separately, and can be taken in either order, provided both are passed within 12 months of passing the first.
Domain 1, Foundation of Valuation Theory, covers standards of value, engagement scoping, and selecting a valuation approach. Domain 2, Implementation of Valuation Methods, covers executing income, market, and asset-based approaches and reaching a defensible conclusion. Each carries 50% of the exam.
No. There's a CPA pathway requiring a valid, unrevoked CPA license and 1,500 valuation-experience hours within five years, and a finance-professional pathway requiring a bachelor's degree and 4,500 valuation-experience hours within five years plus a required standards course.
Yes. Candidates may sit the exam before completing the CPD hours and valuation-experience requirements needed for the full credential application.
The 12-month window between passing your first module and passing the second is a firm requirement, so falling outside it can jeopardize your progress toward the credential - plan your second registration well before that deadline approaches.