A reviewer who identifies a Standards violation in a report under review:
Correct Answer
C) Reports the finding within the review's scope
Why this is correct: A reviewer's role is to develop and report an opinion about the work under review. Any identified Standards violation must be reported within the scope of the review assignment, as part of the review analysis. Why the other choices are wrong: Contacting the original appraiser first is not required; the review report addresses findings. Filing a complaint is a separate enforcement decision. Declining the review is unnecessary unless competency is lacking. Exam tip: Reviewers report violations within the review; enforcement referrals are a separate decision.
Why This Is the Correct Answer
Option C states the obligation correctly: the reviewer reports the finding within the review's scope. Reporting is what the assignment is for, and a violation the reviewer identified but omitted would make the review report itself incomplete and potentially misleading. Framing it as within scope is also important, since a reviewer should not opine on aspects of the work the review did not cover. The finding goes in the report, with the reasoning that supports it.
Why the Other Options Are Wrong
Option A: Should contact the original appraiser first
Contacting the original appraiser is not a required step, and a reviewer's duty runs to the client and intended users of the review rather than to the appraiser whose work is examined. Some engagements or state rules do build in a rebuttal or comment process, and where they do it should be followed, but that is a client or jurisdictional requirement rather than a USPAP prerequisite. Treating it as mandatory would delay or condition findings the client engaged the reviewer to provide.
Option B: Must file a complaint with the state board
Filing a complaint is an enforcement action, discretionary in most circumstances and governed by state law and licensee obligations rather than by the review assignment. Some states or client contracts do impose reporting duties in defined situations, which is exactly why a candidate should not state a universal rule. The review report itself is where the finding must appear regardless of what the reviewer later decides about a referral.
Option D: Must decline to complete the review
Discovering a deficiency is the ordinary result of a review and provides no reason to abandon the assignment. Declining is appropriate when the reviewer lacks competency for the property type or the review level, or where a conflict of interest exists, not because the work under review turned out to be flawed. Withdrawing would leave the client without the very conclusion the review was engaged to deliver.
Report It, Do Not Prosecute It
A reviewer is a reporter, not a prosecutor. Findings go in the review report, specifically and with the requirement named. What happens next with a licensing board is a separate decision made outside the assignment, under state rules rather than under the review.
How to use: When a stem describes a reviewer finding a violation, ask what the review assignment requires: state the finding. Then reject options that add prerequisites such as notifying the appraiser, that make enforcement mandatory, or that abandon the engagement. Remember the finding must stay inside the scope actually performed.
Exam Tip
Note that state law can add duties USPAP does not impose, so an exam answer stating a universal obligation to report to a board is almost always wrong on a national exam.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- -Describing a deficiency vaguely instead of naming the requirement it fails
- -Opining on aspects of the work that fell outside the review's disclosed scope
- -Assuming a national obligation to file a board complaint whenever a violation is found
Concept Deep Dive
Analysis
This question tests where a reviewer's obligation begins and ends when a violation surfaces. The review assignment exists to produce an opinion about the quality of the work under review, so a deficiency the reviewer identifies belongs in the review report, described specifically and tied to the requirement it fails. Vague disparagement is not enough; the reviewer should say what was done, what was required, and why the gap matters to the credibility of the results. That reporting duty is bounded by the review's scope, which is why the reviewer must have disclosed what was examined, verified, and accepted. Separate from reporting is enforcement, which is not the reviewer's function. Whether to file a complaint with a state board is a discretionary decision governed by state law, by any obligations the reviewer has as a licensee, and sometimes by the client's own reporting requirements, and it is made outside the review assignment. Keeping the two apart matters, because a reviewer who believes a complaint is mandatory may soften findings to avoid triggering one, and a reviewer who thinks reporting the finding is optional may quietly omit it.
Background Knowledge
You need to know that a review report must state the reviewer's opinion about the work under review along with the reasoning supporting it, and that the review's conclusions are bounded by the disclosed scope. You should also know that the Competency Rule governs when an assignment must be declined or accepted with disclosure and additional steps, and that state boards, not reviewers, handle enforcement.
Real-World Application
A reviewer finds the report under review omitted the subject's prior sale within the preceding three years, an analysis the standards require. The review report identifies the omission, cites the requirement, explains why the prior transfer was material given a recent flip, and states the effect on the credibility of the value conclusion.
More USPAP Questions
Which statement best defines a hypothetical condition under USPAP?
According to the Competency Rule, if an appraiser lacks the knowledge and experience to complete an assignment competently, which action is NOT acceptable?
An appraiser runs only the sales comparison approach on a standard tract home and omits the cost and income approaches. Under Standard 1 this is:
A value opinion for a subdivision as if fully built out two years from now is what kind of assignment, and what does it require?
A hypothetical condition differs from an extraordinary assumption in that a hypothetical condition:
An appraiser must disclose in the certification whether they have:
A client-imposed requirement — 'use only comps from our approved list' — is best described as:
Under Standard 1, when developing a real property appraisal, an appraiser must:
The certification required by Standards Rule 2-3 must be signed by:
According to Standard 1, when developing an opinion of market value, an appraiser must analyze:
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