At present, the Appraisal Standards Board is made up of only real estate professionals. Not good! Yes, with the current sub-prime mortgage driven credit crisis weighing on the Board, the appraisal of real property is critical. But what of the other disciplines for which it writes standards, particularly business valuation and its evolving mark to market controversy. And now we have the fall of Lehman Brothers, Bank of America’s purchase of Merrill Lynch to save it, the government buyout of AIG, Wachovia’s purchase by its savior Wells Fargo. Whence the next shoe drops? For personalty the issues of Fair Value accounting also come into play, as well as financing matters within the current environment of credit constraint. The Board’s ego is such that all appraisal / valuation work must follow the real property model. Further, it seems this real property weighted only group forces its real property model, in the name of consistency, across disciplines (albeit sometimes irrationally). Yes, the general USPAP concepts do apply to all disciplines. Yet for each discipline there are special considerations and appropriate methodologies that should be addressed, if not by the Boad directly, then by a sub- committee of the Board for each discipline (business valuation, machinery, fine arts, etc.). One cure to the issue at the Board level is this, of the six members of the Board say three should be real property, one business valuation, one machinery and technical services, and one multi-disciplined. This would be at least an eye-opening start. So, Appraisal Standards Board let others into your clique. Allow disagreement and debate. Permit the publishing for comment of dissenting opinions or conflicting opinions. Get on with it. Serve us all well. Thanks!