...Did Fair-Value Accounting Contribute to the Financial Crisis? Christian Laux and Christian Leuz I n its pure form, fair-value accounting involves reporting assets and liabilities on the balance sheet at fair value and recognizing changes in fair value as gains and losses in the income statement. When market prices are used to determine fair value, fair-value accounting is also called mark-to-market accounting. Some critics argue that fair-value accounting exacerbated the severity of the 2008 financial crisis. The main allegations are that fair-value accounting contributes to excessive leverage in boom periods and leads to excessive write-downs in busts. The write-downs due to falling market prices deplete bank capital and set off a downward spiral, as banks are forced to sell assets at “fire sale” prices, which in turn can lead to contagion as prices from asset fire sales of one bank become relevant for other banks. These arguments are often taken at face value, but evidence on problems created by fair-value accounting is rarely provided. We discuss these arguments and examine descriptive and empirical evidence that sheds light on the role of fair-value accounting for U.S. banks in the crisis. While large losses can clearly cause problems for banks and other financial institutions, the relevant question for our article is whether reporting these losses under fair-value accounting created additional problems. Similarly, it is clear that determining fair values...
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...How did Financial Reporting Contribute to the Financial Crisis? Mary E. Barth Graduate School of Business Stanford University Stanford, CA, 94305 mbarth@stanford.edu. Wayne R. Landsman Kenan-Flagler Business School University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599 wayne_landsman@unc.edu. May 2010 Forthcoming, European Accounting Review, 2010 We appreciate comments from seminar participants at the Bank of Spain, Rob Bloomfield, Elicia Cowins, Hilary Eastman, Gavin Francis, Christian Kusi-Yeboah, Jim Leisenring, Martien Lubberink, Richard Rendleman, David Tweedie, and an anonymous reviewer. We acknowledge funding from the Center for Finance and Accounting Research at UNC-Chapel Hill and the Stanford Graduate School of Business Center for Global Business and the Economy. Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1601519 How did Financial Reporting Contribute to the Financial Crisis? Abstract We scrutinize the role financial reporting for fair values, asset securitizations, derivatives, and loan loss provisioning played in the Financial Crisis. Because banks were at the center of the Financial Crisis, we focus our discussion and analysis on the effects of financial reporting by banks. We conclude fair value accounting played little or no role in the Financial Crisis. However, transparency of information associated with asset securitizations and derivatives likely was insufficient for investors to assess...
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...How did Financial Reporting Contribute to the Financial Crisis? Mary E. Barth & Wayne R. Landsman a a b Graduate School of Business , Stanford University , Stanford, CA, USA b Kenan–Flagler Business School , University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , Chapel Hill, NC, USA Published online: 07 Jul 2010. To cite this article: Mary E. Barth & Wayne R. Landsman (2010) How did Financial Reporting Contribute to the Financial Crisis?, European Accounting Review, 19:3, 399-423, DOI: 10.1080/09638180.2010.498619 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09638180.2010.498619 PLEASE SCROLL DOWN FOR ARTICLE Taylor & Francis makes every effort to ensure the accuracy of all the information (the “Content”) contained in the publications on our platform. However, Taylor & Francis, our agents, and our licensors make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability for any purpose of the Content. Any opinions and views expressed in this publication are the opinions and views of the authors, and are not the views of or endorsed by Taylor & Francis. The accuracy of the Content should not be relied upon and should be independently verified with primary sources of information. Taylor and Francis shall not be liable for any losses, actions, claims, proceedings, demands, costs, expenses, damages, and other liabilities whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with, in relation to or arising out of the...
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...93–118 Did Fair-Value Accounting Contribute to the Financial Crisis? Christian Laux and Christian Leuz I n its pure form, fair-value accounting involves reporting assets and liabilities on the balance sheet at fair value and recognizing changes in fair value as gains and losses in the income statement. When market prices are used to determine fair value, fair-value accounting is also called mark-to-market accounting. Some critics argue that fair-value accounting exacerbated the severity of the 2008 financial crisis. The main allegations are that fair-value accounting contributes to excessive leverage in boom periods and leads to excessive write-downs in busts. The write-downs due to falling market prices deplete bank capital and set off a downward spiral, as banks are forced to sell assets at “fire sale” prices, which in turn can lead to contagion as prices from asset fire sales of one bank become relevant for other banks. These arguments are often taken at face value, but evidence on problems created by fair-value accounting is rarely provided. We discuss these arguments and examine descriptive and empirical evidence that sheds light on the role of fair-value accounting for U.S. banks in the crisis. While large losses can clearly cause problems for banks and other financial institutions, the relevant question for our article is whether reporting these losses under fair-value accounting created additional problems. Similarly, it is clear that determining fair values for illiquid...
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...Fair Value Accounting: The Road to Be Most Travelled By Rock Lefebvre, Elena Simonova and Mihaela Scarlat Fair Value Accounting: The Road to Be Most Travelled By Rock Lefebvre, Elena Simonova and Mihaela Scarlat December 2009 Sponsored by the Certified General Accountants Association of Ontario Introduction ................................................................................................................................ Fair Value Accounting – An Overview....................................................................................... 4 5 Critique of Fair Value Accounting ............................................................................................. 14 Arguments in Support of Fair Value Accounting ....................................................................... 17 Concluding Remarks.................................................................................................................. 20 2 Issue in Focus Executive Summary The use of fair value accounting has gained momentum and has proven to attract a level of attention rarely witnessed in the annals of accounting practice. One of the driving forces is the belief endorsed by some that fair value accounting initiated and aggravated the recent credit crisis. In light of these circumstances, it is considered timely to advance awareness in relation to fair value accounting and to clarify the competing arguments in favour of, and against, the use of...
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...The concept of Fair Value Fair value is defined as “the amount for which an asset could be exchanged between knowledgeable, willing parties in an arm’s length transaction”. Prior to the introduction of Fair Value Accounting (FVA), accounting was carried out on a historical cost basis. However there were many limitations of Historical Cost accounting (HCA). HCA assumes money holds a constant purchasing power. It ignores specific price-level change, general price-level change and fluctuations in exchange rates. During inflationary periods, HCA can become irrelevant and can lead to an erosion of operating capacity. IASB framework states “the objective of financial statements is to provide information about the financial position, performance and changes in financial position of an entity that is useful to a wide range of users in making economic decisions. It also states “financial statements also show the results of stewardship of management, or accountability of management for the resources entrusted to it”. FVA is superior to historical cost accounting for these purposes. FVA is dominant in numerous IFRS’s and IAS’s. The IASB have yet to finalise an IFRS on fair value measurement, but it is expected it will have been completed by early 2011. Furthermore, the IASB is developing extra educational material to accompany the publication of the IFRS on fair value measurement. This material will give a description on the thought process for the measurement of assets, liabilities...
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...The Role of Accounting in the Financial Crisis: Lessons for the Future S.P. Kothari kothari@mit.edu 617-253-0994 and Rebecca Lester rlester@mit.edu MIT Sloan School of Management E60-382, 30 Memorial Drive Cambridge, MA 02421 December 14, 2011 ABSTRACT: The advent of the Great Recession in 2008 was the culmination of a perfect storm of lax regulation, a growing housing bubble, rising popularity of derivatives instruments, and questionable banking practices. In addition to these causes, management incentives, as well as certain US 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, and academics. This article is based on a presentation by Deputy Dean and Professor SP Kothari of the Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, at Baruch College on October 25, 2010. 1 Electronic copy available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1972354 The Role of Accounting in the Financial Crisis: Lessons for the Future I. Introduction The Great Recession that started in 2008 has had significant effects on the US and global economy; estimates of the amount of US wealth lost are approximately $14 trillion (Luhby 2009). Various causes of the financial crisis have been cited, including lax regulation over mortgage lending,...
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...prospective criticism of Fair Value Measurement 1. Analysis of nature of Fair Value Measurement The implement basis of SFAS157 is in an efficient market. Its hierarchy of fair value measurement confirms the priority of market price for the same or similar position. But under the credit crisis, entity will expect to reverse the unrealized losses partially at present or totally in the future. Based on this assumption, some entities preferred to report amortized costs or level 3 mark-to-model fair values, arguing that level 2 mark-to–market fair values will raise larger unrealized losses. [8] In an illiquidity market, the impairment of assets caused potential risk of system and overreaction of investors. The substantial decreasing values enter into the unrealized losses, which further force investors sell their assets for financing in order to mask financial statements or to accord with the investment policy. The consequence is that counterparties are unwilling to transact with those whose assets are continually impaired. In this situation, investment having high leverage will undertake the crisis of liquidity. The bankruptcy of these investment banks may cause the liquidation of hedge fund or other issuing bond, as well as the investment loss of their counterparties. When crisis extends, so called fair value is no longer “fair”. [9] In the prosperous economic market, the carry out of fair value measurement follows the bubble price, relative to the basic value of assets and liability...
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...| BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF FAIR VALUE ACCOUNTING | ACCT 525-22936 Current Issues in Accounting | Professor Kabani | Robert Larison | 10/20/2013 | In this paper I look at the benefits and challenges that are likely to follow the migration into the use of Fair Value Accounting. Perhaps, there is no issue today that carries with it as much controversy as does “FVA”. | BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES OF FAIR VALUE ACCOUNTING INTRODUCTION I do not think any topic in accounting has gathered as much interest as has the subject of “Fair Value Accounting” “FVA”. Heightened by the financial crisis of recent years “FVA” has received enormous attention by both academia and the business community alike. Rarely do “conspiracy theorists” make their way into the humdrum subject matter of accounting, but when it comes to the issue of “FVA” accounting, almost anything and everything has been postulated. The most widely held belief is that the move to “FVA” is to blame for the financial crisis of 2007. (Sorkin, 2008.) I have evaluated “FVA” and the transition from “historical value accounting “HVA”. In particular, I have researched the evolution within the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) as it pertains to “FVA”. I have also reviewed the move toward the establishment of one set of standards for worldwide accounting as evidenced by the “convergence” project. With that in mind, we only need to look to the International Accounting Standards Board and its IFRS to get a...
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...Abstract There are many issues surrounding fair value accounting, this assignment concerns about the discussion of fair value measurement under both the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) and US national standard-setter, the Financial Accounting Standards Accounting (FASB). So far, IASB and FASB have created a uniform framework for how to measure fair value for entities around the world. By publishing IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement, the IASB established a single source of guidance under IFRS for all fair value measurements. After searching relevant sources from financial books and economic websites, some of the issues about fair value accounting have been clarified and analysed. This assignment provides a better understanding of the joint work between IASB and FASB, the definition of fair value under both standards, the relevant issue about IFRS 13 and why accounting differences exist. A. Explain the purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding between the IASB and the US national standard-setter, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Theoretically, A Memorandum of Understanding is a document that involved a bilateral or multilateral agreement between parties (Wikipedia 2011). In this particular research essay, the Memorandum of Understanding is a convergence process that both the International Accounting Standard Board (IASB) and US national standard-setter, the Financial Accounting Standards Accounting (FASB) would take steps to balanced the reciprocal...
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...Financial Crisis Advisory Group July 28, 2009 To the Members of the International Accounting Standards Board and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board: On behalf of the members of the Financial Crisis Advisory Group (FCAG), we are pleased to present our report to the Boards about the standard-setting implications of the global financial crisis. We believe that confidence in the transparency and integrity of financial reporting is critically important to global financial stability and sound economic growth. We hope that our conclusions and recommendations will be helpful to the Boards as they work together to simplify and improve accounting standards on financial instruments and other key areas highlighted by the crisis. The FCAG will be meeting in December to review the progress that has been made. In the meantime, we are available to assist the Boards in their efforts. Sincerely, Harvey J. Goldschmid Co-chair Hans Hoogervorst Co-chair cc: Gerrit Zalm, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, International Accounting Standards Committee Foundation John J. Brennan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Financial Accounting Foundation Report of the Financial Crisis Advisory Group – July 28, 2009 Table of Contents Page I. INTRODUCTION _________________________________________________________________________ 1 II. PRINCIPLE 1: Effective Financial Reporting____________________________________________________ 3 Intersection of Prudential Regulation...
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...Original Article How to ‘mark-to-market’ when there is no market Received (in revised form): 12th December 2010 Samuel Francis is an attorney and certified public accountant experienced in corporate, litigation, audit and tax matters focusing his practice on financial services and investment management. He holds a BS in accounting from the City University of New York, Brooklyn College and a JD from Fordham University School of Law. He is the author of the 2009 award-winning article ‘Meet Two-Face: The Dualistic Rule 10b-5 and the Quandary of Offsetting Losses by Gains’. Fordham Law Review 77(6): 3045–3094. Correspondence: Samuel Francis, 321 Roselle Avenue, Cedarhurst, NY 11516, USA E-mail: samfrancis@optonline.net ABSTRACT At the center of the global financial crisis of 2007–2008 was the collapse of American International Group, brought on by extensive unhedged positions in derivatives, such as credit default swaps, and possibly exacerbated by mark-to-market accounting rules. Even though these rules generally produce the most realistic valuations of derivatives, a heated debate broke out over their application in a dislocated market. The foremost concern was that forcing financial institutions to mark down assets to their current market prices actually causes further declines. Regulators largely dismissed such concerns, but acknowledged that the existing standards could use additional clarification and modification. Many scholarly studies have since concurred that...
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...Stakeholder Theory 4 3.2 Positive Accounting Theory 5 3.2 Efficient Market Hypothesis 7 4.0 Discussion and findings 8 5.0 Conclusion 10 Reference 12 Relationship between Fair Value Measurements with Investor Confidence during Global Financial Crisis Abstract As investor, the needs of information which can reflect accurate financial information matching with current market condition is essential. Using fair value methods and measurement for asset valuation is one of the best accounting methods which can reflect current market condition accurately. But FVA cannot be separated from the critique especially when global financial crisis hit the world. Critique said FVA decrease investor confidence to invest in market which made more illiquid market during the time. In this paper, our aim is to find the relationship between fair value accounting, method, and measurement with investor confidence. We have been searched the data from previous journal that has been worked before to prove our assumption which are Fair value has decrease investor confidence and investor rely on information which is provided only by fair value measurement. 1.0 Introduction and Motivation There have been many studies on the role of FVA to global financial crisis (GFC) which may result in different opinion and open debate in the future. Most of the past research papers consist of the focus of this paper which is to find in depth more on how the fair value (FV) measurement may or may not affect...
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..., 2009) in 2005, and this “adoption has made IFRS the most widely accepted financial accounting model in the world” (Paananen et. al, 2009). Therefore, it is no surprise that the two German auto makers, Daimler and BMW that have been selected for this report follow IFRS, and their two latest annual reports date back to 2009 and 2010. Both of those companies are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and since 2006, they have been using IAS 39 for the recognition and measurement of their financials instruments. Furthermore, KPMG AG audited BMW’s 2009 financial statements on February 26, 2010, and BMW’s 2010 financial statements on February 25, 2011. Furthermore, KPMG AG audited Daimler AG’s 2009 financial statements on March 1, 2010, and the company’s 2010 financial statements on February 28, 2011. The purpose of this report is to examine the differences in numbers, and disclosures concerning the reporting of items under IAS 39, between and within the two companies, for 2009 and 2010. Further, this report will examine the controversies which have led to the establishment of IAS 39 fair market value procedures, and will investigate the differences between the reporting under IAS 39 (Fair value procedures), and its equivalent under US GAAP, SFAS 157. “The introduction of IAS 39 was aimed at bringing more visibility to financial statements users with regard to the accounting and disclosure of financial instruments (journal), especially derivatives, since prior to the enactement...
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...Subprime Crisis, accounting standards allowed certain subprime-related debt to be kept off the balance sheets of financial institutions. If standards required subprime debt exposure to be included on balance sheets, it would have allowed a more transparent view into the financial health of a given institution. If such exposure were made public during the Housing Bubble, it may have had a sobering effect, turning the trend that dominated Wall Street away from a carefree hunger for risk, back toward the conservative contentment of risk-aversion. It is possible that this could have slowed the pace of the U.S. Subprime Crisis from turning into a global financial crisis, but it remains to be seen if more stringent accounting could have prevented the Subprime Crisis from occurring. Obviously, a host of destructive factors propelled the calamity: easy credit, lax lending standards, historically low interest rates, a belief in the permanence of ascending home values, and the cult-like following that Wall Street formed around a mathematical formula known as the Gaussian Copula function, which was used to assess risk on tranches within collaterized debt obligations. (The Wired magazine article is worth a read: http://www.wired.com/techbiz/it/magazine/17-03/wp_quant?currentPage=all ) The sheer existence of mortgage backed securities has been blamed for the crisis, the question of what to do with them remains. Are accusers looking to the suspects for answers? Liberal accounting standards...
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