ABV Recertification Requirements: What You Need to Know
To maintain the Accredited in Business Valuation (ABV) credential, ABV holders must continue to pay the annual credential fee, maintain AICPA membership in good standing, complete 60 hours of continuing professional development within the ABV body of knowledge every 3 years, complete at least 10 hours annually, and complete 4 hours of professional ethics education every 3 years. Unstructured learning can count toward recertification, but only up to 50 percent of the 3-year requirement.
This page provides general educational information to help ABV holders understand how ABV recertification requirements work for both CPAs and finance professionals, including the 3-year CPD requirement, annual minimums, ethics requirements, membership requirements, qualifying learning activities, and documentation expectations.
Important: This content is for general educational purposes only. It does not constitute legal, regulatory, or individualized compliance advice and does not replace official guidance issued by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). Individual requirements may vary based on membership status, professional background, and whether an ABV holder is selected for audit.
ABV Recertification Requirements at a Glance
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ABV Recertification Period and Annual Requirement
The ABV recertification framework combines a 3-year requirement with an annual pacing rule, aligning with broader professional CPE requirements. ABV holders need 60 CPE hours of continuing professional development every 3 years, but they also need to complete at least 10 hours each year. That means the requirement is not just a single 3-year catch-up exercise. The annual minimum still matters.
ABV Continuing Professional Development Requirements
The ABV recertification requirement applies to ABV holders regardless of whether they originally qualified through the CPA pathway or the qualified valuation professional pathway. Once credentialed, the maintenance requirements are framed around the credential itself: keeping AICPA membership active, paying the annual credential fee, completing qualifying learning in the ABV body of knowledge, and meeting the ethics requirement.
Total CPD Hours Required
ABV holders must complete 60 hours of continuing professional development within the credential body of knowledge every 3 years. These hours must be directly tied to valuation-related knowledge and skills relevant to the ABV credential.
Annual Minimum Requirement
Within that 3-year total, ABV holders must complete at least 10 hours each year. This annual minimum is important because it prevents a credential holder from waiting until the end of the cycle to complete all 60 hours at once.
Ethics Requirement
ABV holders must complete 4 hours of professional ethics education every 3 years. These ethics hours are a separate recertification requirement in addition to the broader 60-hour ABV body-of-knowledge requirement.
Membership and Annual Fee Requirements
To maintain the ABV credential, holders must maintain AICPA membership in good standing and continue to pay the appropriate annual credential fee. That requirement applies whether the credential holder is a CPA or a finance professional who qualified through the non-CPA pathway.
What Counts Toward ABV Recertification
The AICPA handbook says ABV recertification CPD may include structured learning activities, such as webcasts approved by NASBA, a legally constituted state authority, or another professional body. It may also include unstructured learning activities, but only up to 50 percent of the total requirement.
The handbook also explains that valuation-related education can include:
- formal educational programs in self-study or group-study format
- approved university or college courses
- presenting continuing education courses
- authoring articles and publications
- unstructured learning such as coaching, mentoring, peer-to-peer learning, and on-the-job training, when relevant to the ABV body of knowledge
Unstructured Learning Limit
Unstructured learning can count toward ABV recertification, but only up to 50 percent of the 3-year requirement. In practice, that means no more than 30 of the required 60 hours can come from unstructured learning activities. The rest needs to come from structured learning.
ABV Body of Knowledge Topics
The AICPA’s valuation guidance points to a broad ABV body of knowledge. Topics include areas such as cash flow valuation, cost of capital, discounts and premiums, guideline company analysis, forecasting, valuation calculations and conclusions, engagement reporting, professional standards, and litigation-related valuation issues.
That means ABV recertification is not just about generic finance or accounting education. The learning should be clearly connected to business valuation knowledge and valuation engagement conduct.
Audit and Documentation Expectations
The ABV handbook states that when a credential holder is selected for audit, the holder will be notified in writing and will receive details for reporting recertification-related learning activities. That makes documentation especially important. ABV holders should keep organized records showing the topic, provider, format, date, and number of hours for activities used to satisfy recertification.
ABV Recertification for CPAs and Finance Professionals
The initial eligibility rules are different for CPAs and qualified valuation professionals. CPAs must hold a valid CPA license and complete the CPA pathway requirements, including passing the ABV exam, while finance professionals must meet degree, conduct training, and higher valuation experience thresholds, which may include 75 hours of valuation-related continuing professional development. But once the ABV credential has been granted, the recertification framework itself is the same credential maintenance structure. Both groups sign a declaration of intent to comply with ABV recertification, and both maintain the credential through the same ongoing recertification requirements.
ABV CPD Courses: What to Know
For ABV holders, the most important planning points are:
- completing 60 hours every 3 years
- completing at least 10 hours every year
- completing 4 hours of ethics every 3 years
- keeping AICPA membership active
- paying the annual credential fee
- making sure learning stays within the ABV body of knowledge
- keeping unstructured learning within the 30-hour cap
Audio-Based Learning and LumiQ
LumiQ provides structured, expert-led learning designed to fit professional development into daily life. For ABV holders, the key question is whether a learning activity fits within the ABV body of knowledge and whether it qualifies as structured or unstructured learning under the AICPA framework.
Because the AICPA recognizes both structured learning and a limited amount of unstructured learning for ABV recertification, audio-based learning may fit into an ABV recertification plan depending on the content, format, and documentation. ABV holders remain responsible for determining whether a particular activity qualifies toward the 60-hour requirement and whether it fits the ABV body of knowledge. The AICPA remains the final authority on compliance.
Frequently Asked Questions About ABV Recertification
How many hours are required to maintain the ABV credential?
ABV holders must complete 60 hours of continuing professional development within the ABV body of knowledge every 3 years.
Is there an annual minimum for ABV recertification?
Yes. ABV holders must complete at least 10 hours each year.
How many ethics hours are required for ABV recertification?
ABV holders must complete 4 hours of professional ethics education every 3 years.
Do ABV holders need to maintain AICPA membership?
Yes. ABV holders must maintain AICPA membership in good standing to maintain the credential.
Can unstructured learning count toward ABV recertification?
Yes, but only up to 50 percent of the total requirement. That means no more than 30 of the required 60 hours can come from unstructured learning.
Does the recertification requirement differ for CPAs and finance professionals?
The initial qualification pathway differs, but once the ABV credential is awarded, the recertification framework is the same credential maintenance structure.
Can LumiQ count toward ABV recertification?
It may, where the activity fits the ABV body of knowledge and qualifies appropriately as structured or unstructured learning. The ABV holder remains responsible for confirming that a specific activity qualifies.
ABV Recertification Compliance
The AICPA is the final authority on ABV recertification compliance. ABV holders should rely on the AICPA credential recertification requirements, ABV handbook, and current credential guidance when making decisions about their own obligations.
Sources
Primary sources used for this page include the AICPA ABV credential handbook, the ABV credential eligibility page, and the AICPA credential recertification requirements resource.
LumiQ is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA), similar to AICPA standards, as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors.
State boards of accountancy retain final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Complaints regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website.
LumiQ Inc. Sponsor ID Numbers: NASBA (146039), New York (002996), Texas (010643).
LumiQ’s subject matter classifications are made in accordance with NASBA Fields of Study. Each State Board of Accountancy retains final authority on the acceptance of individual courses and classification of fields of study.
Reviewed by Danielle Marion, Regulatory Compliance Manager at LumiQ. Danielle has more than 20 years of experience in regulatory compliance and professional education governance, including leadership roles at Deloitte LLP.
