Advantages Of Fair Value Accounting

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Fair value accounting measurement has been extensively used in financial reporting over last 20 years. Fair value accounting measurement is a financial method in which entity used to measure and report an estimate of the return that the entity will receive if its assets are sold and the entity relieved of its financial liabilities. The entity would report a loss if it reports a reduction in assets or rise in a number of liabilities. There are legitimate debates concerned on usefulness and the implementations of the fair value accounting measurement in regarding the recent financial crunch, the adversaries argued that financial reporting using fair value accounting measurement has an impact on recent financial crunch. On the other hand, there …show more content…

Derivatives which is a contract between two or more entities based upon the assets, it is derived from one more underlying assets. ‘The growing development of derivatives contracts mean that on cost-based system a group of assets and possibly liabilities were not on the balance sheet at all due to the fact that they have a little or no cost, yet they could have gain or loss value consequently because of changes in interest rate, exchange rate or possible changes in commodity prices. Using fair value accounting will provide a more realistic way of getting transactions on the balance sheet and openly disclosed, and the fair value did not require managers or business entities to purchase risky assets or enter into the speculative market, which is one of the drivers of the financial crunch. Hence, fair value served quickly identify problems giving management policy makers to react and it gives more transparent financial data’ (Shaffer 2010). However, Welch (2014) argue that ‘the fair value accounting treatment of liabilities will deteriorate when entity’s credit rating depreciates, which perceived that a sinking rating would contribute to decreasing fair value of company’s instruments such as bond.’ On the other hand, the use of fair value accounting measurement is widely accepted and used in many entities that hold the financial instrument in their portfolio. Fair value accounting had no impact on derivatives holders such as banks and other financial institutions during the financial crunch. The financial crunch was caused by bad lending management practices of banks and financial institutions during that

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