Known and Knowable
Definition
The IPEV Section 2.5 evidence standard: information that is 'Known or Knowable as of the Measurement Date' is in scope at every quarterly Fair Value remark, whether the founder surfaced it or not. Known information is on the company's books, in board minutes, or in disclosed correspondence. Knowable information is what a competent valuer can reasonably find — patent registers, regulatory filings, trade press, sector benchmarks, ICAEW/SEC filings, customer references obtained through reasonable enquiry. The standard is asymmetric in the founder's disfavour: information that's knowable but unsurfaced is held against the company, not the analyst. Pre-emptive evidence-building flips the asymmetry — when a founder builds the 12-driver inventory before raise, the Valuer's 'knowable' search returns evidence the founder controls rather than evidence the founder forgot. The 2025 IPEV update sharpened this standard, making per-period reassessment of the known-and-knowable inventory a quarterly discipline rather than an annual exercise.
Complementary Terms
Concepts that frequently appear alongside Known and Knowable in practice.
The International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines (IPEV) are the global standard PE and VC funds use to determine Fair Value of unlisted investments. Issued by the IPEV Board, the guidelines set out how a fund's Valuer documents and defends each portfolio company's Fair Value at every measurement date — typically quarterly.
The documented record that establishes an intangible asset exists, where it sits in the Opagio 12 framework, what it is worth, and how that value can be defended at a measurement date. Evidence comes in four forms: identification (the asset is named and classified), provenance (the source documents are attached), measurement (a valuation method has been applied with documented inputs), and persistence (the evidence is reviewed and updated on a defined cadence).
The date at which Fair Value is determined under IFRS 13, ASC 820, and IPEV Valuation Guidelines. For PE and VC funds, the measurement date is typically the end of each calendar quarter, with formal Fair Value reporting to LPs within 45–60 days.
The Opagio attestation that an asset, company, or practitioner meets a defined evidence-quality standard. Modelled on the hallmark on silver: the hallmark certifies that the metal has been tested by an independent assay office and meets a defined standard of purity — it does not certify that the silver is valuable, or that any particular price should be paid for it.
A founder-side preparation discipline that builds the evidence base a Fund's Fair Value process needs at every measurement date — before the term sheet conversation begins. Distinct from valuation negotiation: a Fair Value defence isn't about arguing for a higher number, it's about producing the inputs the Fund's quarterly Fair Value model will consume for the duration of the investment.
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