greater ability to check an appraisal for inconsistency, accuracy and transparency. Professional organizations The Federal German Organisation of Appointed and Sworn Experts (Bundesverband Deutscher Sachverständiger und Fachgutachter, abbr. BDSF) is the main professional organization encompassing the majority of licensed appraisers in Germany. In recent years, with the move towards a more global outlook in the valuation profession, the RICS has gained a foothold in Germany, somewhat at the expense of the BDSF. Another German Organisation of Appointed and Sworn Experts is the Deutsche Sachverständigen Gesellschaft, abbr. DESAG. This organization also includes a large number of licensed appraisers in Germany. With special focus on hypothetical value, in 1996, German banks with real estate financing activities formed the HypZert GmbH, an association for the certification of real estate valuers. A HypZert qualification is regarded as mandatory by many German banks. Israel In Israel, the real estate appraisal profession is regulated by the Council of Land Valuers, an organ of the Ministry of Justice; the largest professional organization, encompassing the majority of appraisers/land valuers is the Association of Land Valuers. Valuers must be registered with the Council, which is a statutory body set up by law, and which oversees the training and administers the national professional exams that are a prerequisite for attaining registration. In 2005 the Council set up a Valuation Standards Committee with the purpose of developing and promulgating standards that would reflect best practice; these have tended to follow a rules-based approach. Historically, most valuations in Israel were statutory valuations (such as valuations performed for purposes of Betterment Tax, a tax administered on any gains accruing to the property by way of changes to the local planning) as well as valuations performed for purposes of bank lending. Since Israel implemented the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in 2008, the profession has been engaged in performing valuations for purposes of financial reporting. United Kingdom In the UK, real estate appraisal is known as property valuation and a real estate appraiser is a land valuer or property valuer (usually a qualified chartered surveyor who specializes in property valuation). Property valuation in the UK is regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), a professional body encompassing all of the building and property-related professions. The RICS professional guidelines for valuers are published in what is commonly known as the Red Book. The 2017 version was the RICS Valuation – Global Standards (1