1 · Experts
Give the opinion
Authenticators, laboratories, appraisers, title companies and others examine the asset and report what they find.
2 · ACAN
Verifies and records it
ACAN checks each expert is qualified and independent, reviews every report for completeness, and records it with the expert's credentials and history.
3 · Investors, insurers, lenders
Make the judgment
The people taking the risk decide what the record is worth to them, with every opinion and caveat in front of them.
Who reports on an asset
The right expert for each question.
Each ACAN module asks for the reports its asset class needs. These are the kinds of experts who provide them.
Art, collectibles
Art historians and authenticators
Give an opinion on who made a work and when, from close study and the scholarly record.
Art
Catalogue raisonné committees and artist foundations
Confirm whether a work appears in, or belongs in, the definitive record of an artist's output.
Art, gems, collectibles
Scientific laboratories
Date materials and test pigments, panels, metals and stones. We look for accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025 for the methods used.
Gems and jewelry
Gemological laboratories
Grade stones and report on origin and any treatment.
Art, antiquities, heritage
Provenance researchers
Reconstruct the chain of ownership, flag gaps and search stolen and looted art registers.
Art, collectibles
Conservators
Record condition, past restoration and anything that affects the object's stability.
Every asset class
Appraisers
Set a fair market value against comparable sales or income, working to recognized professional standards.
Real estate
Title companies and title insurers
Search title, list liens and encumbrances, and commit to a title policy.
Real estate, energy, compute
Inspectors, surveyors and engineers
Confirm that a property or facility exists as described, and report on its condition and capacity.
Every asset class
Counsel
Give title opinions, review export and cultural-property rules, and form the legal structure that holds the asset.
Patents, media, music
Rights and royalty specialists
Confirm registrations and ownership shares, and audit royalty and licensing income.
Physical assets
Custodians and insurers
Confirm receipt into custody, re-check the object over time, and put cover in place.
Joining the network
What an expert must show.
An opinion is only as good as the person giving it. Before an expert's report can enter a record, ACAN checks:
- Verified identity and firm
Who the expert is, who they work for, and how to reach them.
- Licences and accreditations
Checked with the body that issued them, and re-checked when they renew.
- Experience in the specific field
A Renaissance specialist reports on Renaissance panels, not on modern sculpture.
- Professional insurance
Where the profession carries it, proof that cover is in place.
- Declared conflicts
Any link to the owner, the asset, the issuer or the buyers, declared before the work starts.
- A reporting standard
Every report is signed and dated, states its scope and methods, and says plainly what is uncertain.
Independence
Rules that keep opinions honest.
Fees do not depend on the answer.
Experts are paid a fixed fee, never a percentage of value and never a bonus for a favorable opinion. Who paid is shown on the record.
No stake in the asset.
An expert cannot hold an interest in the asset, the owner or the offering they report on.
Conflicts are recorded.
Anything declared is written into the record next to the report, not kept in a file.
Second opinions where it counts.
High-value or contested assets need more than one independent opinion before the record is complete.
Track record
A history that follows every expert.
Each expert has a profile that builds over time, and it appears on every record they contribute to. Verified investors, insurers and lenders can see it before they decide.
- How many reports they have on ACAN, and in which fields.
- Every challenge to their work, and how it was resolved.
- For appraisers, how later sales compared with their values.
- Corrections, withdrawals and any action by their professional body.
Expert profile · Illustrative
EX-1504 · Accredited appraiser
- Field
- Old Master paintings
- Accreditation
- Verified with the issuing body
- In practice
- 19 years
- Reports on ACAN
- 29
- Challenges
- None
- Later sales vs. appraisal
- Within 9% on average
- Disciplinary record
- None
- Fee basis
- Fixed fee
The appraiser behind the sample ACAN record. Fictional, with sample data.
When an opinion is challenged
What happens if an expert gets it wrong.
- The challenge is recorded
It is added to every record the opinion appears in, and holders, insurers and lenders on those assets are told.
- A new opinion can be sought
Another independent expert can be asked to report, and both opinions stay on the record.
- The expert's profile is updated
The outcome becomes part of their track record, whichever way it goes.
- ACAN can suspend or remove an expert
Repeated or serious problems mean their reports can no longer enter new records.
Responsibility for an opinion stays with the expert who gave it. See our risks and disclosures.
For experts
Apply to join the network.
If you authenticate, appraise, research or certify real-world assets and want your work to carry its track record with it, tell us about your practice.