- Two pathways exist: CPA license with 1,500 valuation hours, or bachelor's degree with 4,500 valuation hours.
- Both exam modules must be passed within 12 months of passing the first one.
- Each module costs USD 175-275, with one retake included per exam purchase.
- You can sit for the exam before finishing education and experience requirements.
ABV Requirements Overview
Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) is issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants through AICPA & CIMA. Unlike many single-exam credentials, ABV separates the exam requirement from the credential-award requirement. You can take and pass the exam long before you actually hold the letters "ABV" after your name, because AICPA lets candidates test before completing the education and experience components. This distinction trips up a lot of people researching the process for the first time, so it's worth understanding upfront before diving into what ABV certification actually involves.
At a high level, three buckets of requirements exist:
- Exam requirement: pass two computer-based modules covering the credential's two content domains.
- Membership and CPD requirement: hold AICPA membership in good standing and log 75 valuation-related CPD hours within the preceding five years.
- Experience and education requirement: satisfy one of two pathways described below, tied either to a CPA license or to a bachelor's degree plus a required ethics course.
The Two Eligibility Pathways
AICPA built two routes into ABV so that both CPAs and non-CPA valuation specialists can qualify. Which pathway applies to you depends entirely on whether you hold an active CPA license or certificate.
| 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 specified beyond CPD | AICPA Professional Conduct and Standards Education for Finance Professionals, within 30 days of application |
| AICPA membership | Required, good standing | Required, good standing |
| CPD hours | 75 valuation-related hours (5-year lookback) | 75 valuation-related hours (5-year lookback) |
Notice the experience gap: the finance professional pathway asks for three times the valuation hours of the CPA pathway. AICPA's logic is straightforward - a CPA license already signals a baseline of accounting and professional-standards training, so the non-CPA route compensates with significantly more hands-on valuation work plus a dedicated ethics and standards course.
CPA Pathway Details
If you're a licensed CPA, your eligibility math is simpler. You need:
- An active, unrevoked CPA license or certificate issued by a U.S. state board (or recognized equivalent).
- 1,500 hours of valuation-related experience accumulated within the five years preceding your credential application.
- AICPA membership in good standing.
- 75 valuation-related CPD hours within the preceding five years.
"Valuation-related experience" is intentionally broad in scope, covering work like preparing or reviewing valuation reports, conducting damages or lost-profits analyses, litigation support tied to valuation questions, or transaction advisory work that involves valuing a business interest. What counts is the substance of the engagement, not your job title.
Key Takeaway
CPAs should start logging valuation hours as early as possible, since the 1,500-hour requirement is measured against a rolling five-year window - waiting too long to document your work can force you to discard older hours.
Finance Professional Pathway Details
Not a CPA? You can still qualify for ABV through the finance professional pathway, provided you meet a higher experience bar:
- A bachelor's degree or equivalent from an accredited institution.
- 4,500 hours of valuation-related experience within the preceding five years.
- Completion of the AICPA Professional Conduct and Standards Education for Finance Professionals course, completed within 30 days of submitting your credential application.
- AICPA membership in good standing.
- 75 valuation-related CPD hours within the preceding five years.
The 30-day window on the ethics course is easy to miss. It's not something you can complete casually months before applying - the timing has to line up tightly with your actual application submission. Build that into your planning calendar rather than treating it as an afterthought.
Exam Structure and Registration Mechanics
Regardless of which pathway you're on, the exam itself is identical. It's delivered by Kryterion as two separately purchased computer-based modules, available year-round at test centers or via remote proctoring - there's no fixed testing-window calendar to work around, which gives you more flexibility than credentials tied to quarterly windows. If you want the specific scheduling mechanics, see ABV Exam Dates 2026: Testing Windows, Deadlines & Scheduling.
Each module contains 90 multiple-choice questions, and you can take the two modules in either order. The catch: once you pass your first module, you have 12 months to pass the second. Miss that window and you'll need to retake the module you already passed.
The exam blueprint, effective October 1, 2020, maps directly onto two domains, each weighted 50%:
Domain 1: Foundation of Valuation Theory (50%)
Covers the conceptual and regulatory groundwork underlying valuation work - standards of value, premise of value, professional standards, and the theoretical frameworks that justify every downstream calculation.
- Standards, premises, and levels of value
- Professional standards and engagement considerations
- Economic and industry analysis fundamentals
Domain 2: Implementation of Valuation Methods (50%)
Covers the applied side - actually running income, market, and asset approaches, adjusting financial statements, and reaching a supportable conclusion of value.
- Income, market, and asset-based approaches
- Normalization adjustments and discount/capitalization rate development
- Report writing and conclusion reconciliation
Formulas and variable definitions are provided during testing, so memorizing formulas isn't the point - knowing when and how to apply them is. For a full domain-by-domain breakdown, read ABV Exam Domains 2026: Complete Guide to All 2 Content Areas.
Registration pricing runs USD 175-275 per module, with membership discounts applied at checkout, and one retake is included with each exam purchase. For a complete cost breakdown across both modules and optional prep resources, see ABV Certification Cost 2026: Complete Pricing Breakdown. Results are reported strictly as pass/fail - there's no scaled score to interpret, though you can read more about what that pass standard actually reflects in ABV Passing Score 2026: Exactly What You Need to Pass.
Sequencing Your Application and Study Timeline
Because you can take the exam before finishing your experience and education requirements, most candidates benefit from tackling the exam first, then assembling the pathway paperwork while the exam is fresh. A reasonable sequence looks like this:
Confirm your pathway
- Determine whether you'll apply via the CPA pathway or finance professional pathway
- Start tracking valuation-related hours immediately if you haven't already
Study and pass Module 1
- Focus study time on whichever domain - Foundation of Valuation Theory or Implementation of Valuation Methods - feels weaker
- Register for the module you feel most prepared for first
Study and pass Module 2 within 12 months
- Reinforce weaker domain topics using targeted review
- Schedule the second module with enough buffer before the 12-month deadline
Finalize pathway requirements
- Complete the ethics course within 30 days of application if on the finance professional pathway
- Confirm AICPA membership status and CPD hour totals before submitting
If you're weighing whether to study both domains simultaneously or sequentially, the honest answer depends on your background - accounting-heavy professionals often find Domain 1 concepts familiar and need more repetition on Domain 2's applied calculations, while appraisal-heavy professionals sometimes need the reverse. For a structured plan built around this exact tradeoff, see ABV Study Guide 2026: How to Pass on Your First Attempt, and for an honest read on where candidates typically struggle, check How Hard Is the ABV Exam? Complete Difficulty Guide 2026.
Maintaining the Credential
Passing both modules and satisfying your pathway isn't the end of the requirements - ABV requires ongoing upkeep once awarded. Recertification calls for:
- Continued AICPA membership in good standing
- 60 valuation-related CPD hours every three years, with at least 10 hours completed annually
- Four professional-ethics hours every three years
The "at least 10 annually" clause matters because it prevents front-loading - you can't bank all 60 hours in one year and coast for the next two. Spreading CPD across the full three-year cycle is effectively mandatory by design.
Key Takeaway
Treat the 75 CPD hours needed for initial credentialing and the 60-hour recertification cycle as two separate clocks - the first gets you credentialed, the second keeps you credentialed indefinitely.
If you're still deciding whether pursuing ABV makes sense for your career trajectory given the ongoing commitment, it's worth reading Is the ABV Certification Worth It? Complete ROI Analysis 2026 and ABV Salary Guide 2026: Complete Earnings Analysis before committing to either pathway's hour requirements. For a snapshot of who's actually hiring for the credential once you hold it, see ABV Jobs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. AICPA allows candidates to sit for and pass both exam modules before completing the education and experience components of either pathway. The credential itself, however, isn't awarded until all requirements are satisfied.
You'll need to retake and pass the module you already completed, since AICPA requires both modules to be passed within a 12-month window measured from your first passing result.
No. Non-CPAs can qualify through the finance professional pathway, which requires a bachelor's degree, 4,500 hours of valuation-related experience within five years, and a required AICPA ethics and standards course completed within 30 days of applying.
Each module contains 90 multiple-choice questions, and the two modules together cover Foundation of Valuation Theory and Implementation of Valuation Methods, each weighted 50% under the current blueprint.
Yes. The blueprint effective October 1, 2020 confirms that formulas and variable definitions are provided during testing, so preparation should emphasize application and judgment over rote memorization.