Insights — Standards & Practice

Taqeem and RICS — comparing regulatory frameworks.

How the Taqeem valuer accreditation framework compares with RICS professional regulation, and what this means for cross-border valuation standing in the region.

DUBAI, UAE SEPTEMBER 2026 5 MIN READ WESTERN VAS INSIGHTS TEAM
Regional institutional architecture
Professional handshake meeting

As the wider MENA region develops formal valuer accreditation frameworks alongside internationally established bodies like RICS, understanding how these frameworks relate — rather than compete — helps clients assess valuer credibility across borders.

01

What Taqeem represents

Taqeem is a regional professional accreditation framework for valuers, developed to standardise valuer qualification, ethics, and practice standards within its jurisdiction — filling a role broadly analogous to what RICS has long provided internationally, but calibrated to regional market conditions and regulatory priorities.

02

What RICS represents

RICS is a long-established, globally recognised professional body whose Red Book standards and MRICS/FRICS qualifications are referenced across international lending, audit, and cross-border transaction contexts. Its global recognition makes RICS standing particularly valuable for valuations that need to satisfy international stakeholders — foreign lenders, multinational auditors, or cross-border investors.

03

Complementary, not competing

Rather than viewing regional and international accreditation as alternatives, the strongest valuation practices in the region maintain both: regional accreditation ensures alignment with local regulatory expectations and market-specific practice norms, while RICS standing ensures the same work is recognised and trusted by international counterparties. A valuer or firm holding both credentials is positioned to serve both purely local engagements and internationally-facing ones without needing to choose a single framework.

What this means for clients

If your engagement has any cross-border dimension — a foreign lender, an international auditor, a multinational parent company — check whether your valuer's credentials are recognised by the specific counterparty you need to satisfy. Purely regional accreditation may not carry weight with an international audit committee, just as a purely international qualification without regional regulatory standing may not satisfy local transaction requirements. The safest position is a valuer whose standing spans both.

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