Market data and professional judgement
Several programme topics relate directly to the market parameters used in business valuation. These include capital structures with different categories of debt, credit spreads, implied market risk premia, international asset pricing, beta estimation, peer-group selection, and changes in professional standards and case law.
Artificial intelligence can support data preparation and the initial identification of comparable companies. The responsible professional must still review the selection, understand the underlying sources, and document why the resulting inputs are appropriate for the valuation.
Topics for discussion
A large part ofthe 2026 programme is about precisely the parameters we supply every day.
The sessions cover, among other things, business valuation with several categories of debt and differing credit spreads, implied market risk premia between theory and practice, international asset pricing and its consequences for beta factor and market risk premium, beta prediction using AI, and AI-assisted selection of peer group companies. Added to that are the new concept of synergies in IDW S 1(2026 version) and current case law on IDW S 17 and stock market prices.
These are not academic footnotes. They are the points at which a valuation report gets takenapart in a review or in court. We are there to hear where practice is heading,and to show how these parameters can be derived and documented cleanly. Come to ourstand if any of these topics are on your desk:
- Beta factors – valuation dates precise to theday, flexible return intervals and reference indices, tax shield, debt beta,on- and off-balance-sheet leasing in the definition of gearing, plus aone-click quality filter
- Peer group selection – AI-assistedpre-selection, followed by your professional judgement, documented
- Market risk premium – the IDW recommended range,the KPMG cost of capital study and Damodaran data side by side
- Credit spreads – terms from 1 to 30 years, byrating and sector-specific, including for differentiated costs of debt
- Risk-free rate – yield curves for more than 50countries, matched to your valuation date
- Country risk premium – for cross-bordervaluations
- Multiples – trailing and forward-lookingmultiples, sector multiples for 20 sectors and over 100 subsectors, SME EBITmultiples for the DACH region
- Documentation – raw data, calculation paths andExcel export for your report
smartZebra will use the conference to demonstrate how these parameters can be derived and documented within a consistent workflow. The team will also gather feedback on how practitioners are using artificial intelligence while maintaining review controls and responsibility for the result.
19 years of the Bewerterkonferenz
Few events bring valuation practice, academia and case law together this closely. The 2026 programme runs from the opening keynote "AI for ValuationProfessionals" with Christoph Magnussen, through the live stream from Prof. Aswath Damodaran on "Beat Your Bot – Investing in the Age of AI", to Prof. Michael Hüther on European competitiveness.
The commonthread is hard to miss: AI is changing how valuation work comes about. What it does not change is responsibility for the result. Anyone using AI in valuation needs data whose origin and calculation they can disclose. That is exactly what we would like to discuss with you in Berlin.
The EACVA Bewerterkonferenz takes place on 19 and 20 November 2026 at the Titanic Chaussee Hotel Berlin, Chausseestrasse 30, 10115 Berlin. Registration and the official programme are available from EACVA. Participants can arrange a meeting with smartZebra to discuss a specific question relating to beta factors, market risk premia, credit spreads, peer groups, multiples, or documentation.
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More know-how on specific modules & solutions: Transfer Pricing · Cost of Capital · Beta Factors · Multiples · Interest Rates
