(4)Structural separation arrangements constitute safeguards that mitigate the risks of conflicts of interest. As such, their existence should be taken into account in the assessment of a potential valuer. Thus, in the case of legal persons, the independence of a valuer should be assessed by reference to the company or partnership as a whole but taking account of any structural separation and other arrangements that have possibly been put in place to differentiate between those staff members who could be involved in the valuation and other staff members. If the significance of those threats compared to the safeguards applied is such that the independence of the company or partnership applying to be a valuer is compromised, that company or partnership should not be retained as a valuer.