Appraisal Course Associates

Who We Are and What We Do
Appraisal Course Associates (ACA) is a partnership between Bill Novotny, ISA AM, GCA and Dave Maloney, AOA CM established to provide comprehensive courses in personal property valuation theory, principles, methodology, report writing and standards. Our courses are designed for the experienced as well as the would-be personal property appraiser seeking a comprehensive review of or education in core valuation principles and methodology, including the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). (What is USPAP?)

We are proud to provide quality continuing education online (CEU) courses for personal property appraisal professionals. The online courses are designed to provide the appraisers with the opportunity for professional growth and refinement while learning at his or her own pace. We offer the opportunity for the appraiser to learn at any time from the comfort, privacy and convenience of home or office through our Web-based content management system protocol.

Our online courses are either self-assessed or instructor-assessed. With self-assessed courses you complete each Lesson and answer self-assessed quiz questions to check your progress and to help ensure the instructor that you are comprehending the material. Instructor-assessed courses have the same content (including quizzes), but you will also work directly with the instructor, and to test your knowledge you may be required to take locally-proctored exams and/or submit written work at the end of the course for review and approval.

Overcoming the Profession's Challenge
All professions should be committed to developing an open and transparent method of educating their practitioners in sound principles, theory, standards and methodology relevant to their profession in order to help ensure the highest level of continued competency. In doing so, the profession also helps to ensure that the public's needs are best being met and that the public's trust in the profession is being maintained. A consistent and responsible system of member education is typically one of the primary responsibilities of a profession.

Unlike doctors or attorneys who have structured educational requirements, there are no similar requirements for personal property appraisers. There is no appraisal bar to join or state examination to pass for the personal property appraiser. Some appraisers look to professional societies for education in appraisal theory and methodology. But one of the challenges within the personal property appraisal profession is that of the estimated one million offering valuation services, relatively few belong to societies and of those who do, not all become educated and trained in core appraisal knowledge.

Most individuals perform appraisals without really knowing how. Those who belong to societies may be faced with appraisal courses ranging from being non-existent to perhaps being incomplete or infrequently updated. What is more, the appraisal course material needed to properly understand the fundamentals of appraisal theory, methodology, standards and practice has not always been meaningfully integrated with the nationally-accepted Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP). It is no wonder appraisal reports often fail to meet the client's needs.

It is for these reasons that we at ACA are committed to offering the serious professional a premiere level of education in appraisal principles and methodology that is designed hand-in-hand with USPAP. It is the understanding and application of these USPAP-centric principles that is the true hallmark of today's professional personal property appraiser.

Through our Complete Online Course in Personal Property Appraising, we at ACA overcome the issues relating to canceled classes, infrequent offerings, outdated courses, and inadequate course material. Instead, the personal property appraisal student is treated to a comprehensive education making use not of mere outlines and hand-written notes, but of USPAP-compliant, fully-narrated and constantly-updated course material that is thoroughly and thoughtfully composed and presented by veteran personal property appraisal course writers and instructors.

For our USPAP-related courses, The Appraisal Foundation's AQB (Appraiser Qualifications Board) USPAP Instructor Approval program is a role model for providers of courses directed at the personal property appraiser. The Appraisal Foundation not only certifies its instructors as being qualified to teach USPAP-related courses, but it also provides complete, well-developed and frequently-updated course materials for both the USPAP instructor as well as the student. Such efforts greatly improve the consistency and overall quality of USPAP instruction and of the student experience. ACA partner Bill Novotny is an AQB-approved USPAP instructor.