About Appraisal & Connoisseur Associates
Biography of Kent W. McDonald
Kent W. McDonald, ISA-AM, BFA, BAFA, is a
personal property appraiser accredited through the International Society of Appraisers, (ISA). His appraisal firm,
Appraisal & Connoisseur Associates (ACA), has been serving clients since 1987, not only in New Mexico, but in Chicago, Philadelphia, and Beverly Hills, California as well. Mr. McDonald has worked for Roger Ponn & Associates, a national residential contents appraisal firm serving all of the United States. The highly regarded and internationally known Chubb Insurance Group hired Roger Ponn & Associates for many of their very high-end clients.
Kent W. McDonald was born and raised in Albuquerque. He has received four degrees from the University of New Mexico: a BFA in Fine Art Painting and a BAFA in Studio Arts (both in 1987); a BAFA in Art History (1995); and a BA in French with a minor in Spanish (2000). He also took over forty hours of business-related courses as part of the Anderson School of Management curriculum at UNM.
He has been a member of the International Society of Appraisers (ISA) for twenty-nine years where he completed coursework with the Indiana University School of Continuing Studies in conjunction with the ISA. Courses studied include Business Formation, Personal Property Methodology & Reasoning, as well as Personal Property Fiduciary Responsibilities & Liability.
He has taken and passed coursework in the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP), which are the Federal standards for all appraisers in the United States.
He has kept current with all regional and national regulations through taking and passing all required requalification courses through the ISA. Mr. McDonald requalified through ISA in 2018, taking rigorous course work that covered recent changes affecting all personal property appraisers. He also took the 7-hour bi-yearly USPAP refresher in 2020.
He is qualified and up to date with insurance industry standards regarding insurance appraisals, both for obtaining coverage and performing casualty loss appraisals. Kent is up to date on requirements for producing estate appraisals. This includes IRS mandated appraisals for individuals whose net worth at the time of death exceeds the federally determined threshold. Likewise, equitable distribution appraisals are regularly performed, which require a high degree of expertise and knowledge of applicable markets for a wide variety of household effects, be they common collectibles or high-end fine art. Crucial is an intimate knowledge of the highest and best use of a family's treasures, often acquired over a lifetime of collecting.
