...Mary E. Barth; Wayne R. Landsman SYNOPSIS Whether fair value accounting should be used in financial reporting has been the subject of debate for many years. A key dimension to this debate is whether fair value earnings can provide information to financial statement users that is helpful in making...

... amounts. I next explore potential implications for measurement. This analysis identifies conditions when the recognition of incremental unrealized gains or losses (UGLs) in income under a fair value measurement model improves relevance of reported information. The analysis suggests that UGLs provide most...

... Framework concepts, including the objective of financial reporting, the qualitative characteristics of useful financial information, and the definitions of assets and liabilities. The paper focuses on subsequent measurement of individual assets and liabilities and concludes that fair value measurement...

...Adrian Valencia; Thomas J. Smith; James Ang SYNOPSIS Fair value accounting has been a hotly debated topic during the recent financial crisis. Supporters argue that fair values are more relevant to investors, while detractors point to the measurement error in the estimation of the reported fair...

... as well as certain U.S. accounting standards contributed to the financial crisis. We outline the significant effects of these incentive structures and the role of fair value accounting standards during the crisis, and discuss implications and relevance of these rules to practitioners, standard-setters...

...Katherine Guthrie; James H. Irving; Jan Sokolowsky SYNOPSIS Under the fair value option, SFAS No. 159, firms have full discretion over electing to report specified financial instruments at fair value on a contract-by-contract basis. Building on Henry's (2009 ) study of early adopting banks...