Another step towards full fair value accounting for financial instruments

The international Joint Working Group of Standard Setters (JWG) was established by the IASC (replaced by the IASB in 2001) and other national accounting standard setters for the purpose of developing a comprehensive set of principles for reporting financial instrument at fair value. In December 2000 the JWG issued a Draft Standard addressing the accounting for financial instruments and similar items. The proposals in the Draft Standard would affect existing accounting practice in many areas, including those related to the use of hedge accounting. This article states the main problems that could result from applying the provisions of that Draft Standard, offering some alternative approaches to overcome those problems.     

金融危机引发的对公允价值与历史成本的思考

世界金融危机使得公允价值会计准则备受关注,损失惨重的金融界认为公允价值加剧金融危机,要求修改公允价值会计准则。因此,本文对公允价值和历史成本进行深入思考,认为公允价值计量更符合决策有用观和金融创新的需要,有利于企业的资本保全,能更真实地反映企业的经营成果,但一定程度上缺乏可靠性和可操作性。历史成本计量模式具有较强的可靠性、客观性和可验证性,但是知识经济和信息时代的到来使得历史成本适用的环境不断发生改变,缺乏相关性是其面临的最大挑战。从经济发展的特定环境来看,在相当长的时期内,我国应该仍然以历史成本作为基本的会计信息,结合补充公允价值的信息,多种计量属性并存将是未来财务报告的发展趋势。     

我国金融监管联席会议制度研究

金融业的发展趋势对我国现行的分业监管体制提出新的要求,各监管机构有必要在分工的基础上建立一种合作协调机制。金融监管联席会议的制度化运作在很大程度上能够满足这种需求。现行金融监管联席会议制度存在着不足,需要进一步完善才能更好地发挥作用。     

金融稳定性与公允价值会计准则的优化——基于动态减值准备的思考

次贷危机背景下,对金融机构使用公允价值会计的讨论越来越多。支持者认为市场价格是资产机制的最有效估计;反对者则认为在危机时期,市场价格不是价值的最优体现,反而会导致更为严重的信息误导和顺周期效应。本文从动态减值准备的角度分析了银行等金融机构的公允价值计量优化,认为动态减值准备有助于提升信息透明度和减缓顺周期效应。     

公允价值会计和金融稳定研究——金融危机分析视角

本文基于金融危机的背景下,对公允价值与金融稳定之间关系进行研究。公允价值会计在金融加速器和资产市场混响效应的基础上引入会计加速器,使风险承担更具顺周期效应,这对金融系统的稳定产生了不利影响。本文在坚持公允价值会计的原则下,从金融市场稳定的角度,建立了一个理想信息框架。通过该框架,市场参与者,不仅能从微观层面上获得企业有关财务状况的估计、风险轮廓的估计和计量的不确定性等信息,而且还能从宏观层面上获得风险的相关性、风险传染的可能性及其系统风险等方面的信息。     

Management Perceptions of Fair-Value Accounting for all Financial Instruments

Accounting for all financial instruments at fair value is a controversial issue currently under review by standard-setters. Banking industry associations have typically opposed the use of fair-value accounting for financial instruments. This study examines perceptions of managers at financial institutions regarding support for recording all financial instruments at fair value. Managers at financial institutions do not uniformly oppose the use of fair-value accounting for all instruments. Considerable variation is found, ranging from strong support to strong opposition. Support for fair-value accounting is negatively associated with concern about excess volatility in reported earnings. There is less concern that the fair value of assets and liabilities cannot be reliably measured.     

金融危机背后公允价值的反思

金融危机的原因是多方面的,与公允价值会计计量有密切关系,但公允价值不是金融危机的"原凶",充其量只是"帮凶".正确认识公允价值,充分发挥公允价值会计在市场经济中的作用,对应对和解决当前的金融危机有现实意义.我国不能完全照搬西方的做法,而应结合具体实际,对公允价值会计进行改进和完善,使之更好地为经济发展服务.     

金融危机与公允价值会计:源起、争论与思考

本文探讨了金融危机与公允价值会计争论的背景、焦点和原因。文章从会计计量中采用公允价值是否优于历史成本、为什么会计会对金融稳定产生影响、会计如何与金融监管相协调并在金融稳定中发挥作用等三个方面进行了思考,为我国企业正确认识和运用公允价值会计提供了参考。     

金融危机背景下的公允价值会计问题研究

公允价值会计因被指责具有"顺周期效应"而成为全球注目的焦点。本文论述了顺周期效应的根源,即财务报告与金融监管政策的关联性和次贷产品的复杂性;剖析了当前公允价值会计争论的实质,即金融工具是否应按公允价值计量。文章揭示了金融机构欲在金融工具领域废止公允价值会计、更广泛地应用摊余成本的动机,并在阐述美国金融工具计量实务历史经验的基础上,论证了"将扩大公允价值应用确定为金融工具会计长期目标"的正确性。文章还论述了识别非活跃市场和强迫交易的途径。     

Assessing the Impact of Fair‐Value Accounting on Financial Statement Analysis: A Data Envelopment Analysis Approach

The historical‐cost and prudence principles have guided accounting for financial investments and tangible fixed assets in many jurisdictions around the globe. This situation might change as a consequence of the increasing number of countries adopting International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), which, to some extent, permit accounting on a fair‐value basis. It is unclear how such a change would affect the analysis of financial statements and to what extent it could modify analysts' perceptions of companies' condition and performance. This paper attempts to shed some light on this issue by restating the financial investments and tangible fixed assets of a sample of 85 Spanish insurance companies, applying fair value instead of historical‐cost‐based valuations and by simulating analyst perception of these companies' efficiency and profitability for both sets of data using data envelopment analysis (DEA). We find that the numbers on the face of the financial statements change considerably and observe that the magnitude of these changes varies between companies and classes of assets. However, only in a few cases does a change in the valuation basis lead to a relevant change in DEA scores; within our sample, the overall assessment of companies with regard to efficiency and profitability remains largely the same under both valuation bases. These findings seem to indicate that a change from historical‐cost to fair‐value accounting could alter analyst perceptions of a limited number of companies but likely will not have a major impact on the appraisal of the majority of them.     

浅析金融危机视角下公允价值会计原则

在美国次贷危机引发的金融危机中公允价值的运用再次遭受质疑，在此背景下，文章首先论证了公允价值的含义及其公允价值计量属性的优劣势分析，通过分析我们得出应该正确看待公允价值与金融危机的关系，最后指出在我国运用公允价值的一些完善措施。     

系统性风险转移、金融危机与公允价值披露

金融创新过程中系统性风险的转移突破了证券投资中收益与风险的传统对应关系,使衍生工具成为一种能有效规避系统性风险的投资载体。公允价值按市值计价的会计处理方法存在着一定的不足,即反映收益的同时忽视了对风险的应有监督;而同时披露收益的相关性和风险的相关性这两方面的信息是提升公允价值信息决策有用性的重要一环。这就需要从披露的视角研究公允价值的具体应用,探讨公允价值披露的改进。     

Financial instruments,financial reporting,and financial stability

I review new empirical evidence from the recent financial crisis on the relation between financial reporting and financial stability. I draw the following conclusions: First, there is still no evidence that fair value accounting caused widespread fire sales of asset or contagion. Second, the empirical evidence suggests that accounting and regulation might have contributed to the crisis by allowing several banks to delay actions. Third, even if share prices reacted positively to the relaxation of fair value accounting rules during the crisis, the origin of the problem might be lax rules that allowed banks to run into financial and regulatory problems. Fourth, fair values can be relevant for assets that a bank intends to hold until maturity if that bank strongly relies on short-term financing. Fifth, the recognition of fair values is no substitute for information that allows investors to judge a bank's risk exposure and the validity of reported fair values.     

关于在财务会计中采用公允价值的探讨

近年来,美国财务会计准则委员会(FASB)和国际会计准则理事会(IASB)大力倡导会计计量运用面向现在和未来的、以市场为基础的公允价值。本文着重研究并比较IASB和FASB给出的公允价值定义和相关的基本概念,认为公允价值是面向市场、以假想交易为对象的一种估计价格,可以有三级估计,最佳的估计是(相同)资产或负债主市场或最有利市场的价格,指出了它带来的缺陷。文章认为,公允价值计量乃是财务会计发展的大势所趋;如果公允价值得以全面应用,则财务会计将有可能反映企业的价值(或其近似值)。     

IFRS9的实施对中国金融机构的影响及政策建议

中国会计准则与国际会计准则的发展日益同步,备受关注的IFRS9的实施也必将影响到中国的金融机构。中国金融机构持有的金融资产如果根据IFRS9的要求进行调整,将对金融资产的计量和有关损益的确定产生直接影响。本文通过对中国金融机构持有的金融资产情况的分析,发现IFRS9的实施对中国金融机构的影响将集中体现在权益工具的计量和公允价值变动对损益的影响方面。本文认为,中国会计准则制定机构应当通过限制使用计量选择权、提供金融资产计量操作指引等措施来减少转换过程中有可能面临的问题。     

The Effect of Fair Value Adjustments on Dividend Policy Under Mandatory International Financial Reporting Standards Adoption: Australian Evidence

Using a sample of firms from the financial sector of the Australian Securities Exchange, we examine the effect of the fair value adjustments of financial instruments on firms’ dividend distributions in the context of mandatory International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) adoption. We find a positive relationship between the fair value adjustments of financial instruments and firms’ dividend payouts, suggesting that the frequent use of fair value adjustments of financial instruments by financial firms following mandatory IFRS adoption has the potential to increase the proportion of transitory earnings in reported earnings and cause changes in dividend policies. Our results add to the ongoing debate on the unintended economic consequences of fair value accounting (FVA) and provide empirical support for regulators’ concerns that unrealized FVA gains from asset revaluation during booms may encourage the distribution of those unrealized gains.     

The Future of Financial Reporting: Insights from Research

Research offers insights that, if heeded and built upon, could improve financial reporting, thereby contributing to a more prosperous society. In particular, research suggests improvement could stem from greater use of fair value; a performance statement designed to reveal the information embedded in changes in fair value; better information to help investors assess the value of intangible assets; more specific information about risk and uncertainty; information that is unbiased, rather than conservative; acceptance of a degree of earnings management together with a determination of how much earnings management is acceptable; and a financial reporting package designed to convey information users need, which presumably is broader than today's financial statements.     

金融创新、公允价值计量与商业银行股票崩盘风险

选取我国沪深两市A股上市商业银行作为研究对象,利用2007—2017年年报数据,实证研究金融创新对商业银行股票崩盘风险的影响。在此基础上,以公允价值计量作为中介变量研究其在金融创新对商业银行股票崩盘风险影响中的作用机理。研究发现：金融创新与商业银行股票崩盘风险负相关,公允价值计量在其中发挥部分中介效应的同时也增加了商业银行股票崩盘风险。在当前鼓励创新和防范化解重大金融风险的背景下,应当大力提倡金融创新,通过公司治理和内部控制来规范公允价值计量的使用。     

衍生金融工具会计风险问题研究

针对大多数衍生金融工具为表外业务,无法在财务报表中加以确认和计量的特点,本文讨论了衍生金融工具存在的计量风险,以及采用公允价值方法与及时信息披露方法结合对衍生金融工具计量和披露,由于会计计量属性的原因,会计难以全面披露衍生金融工具的风险,由此讨论如何规避由于采用衍生金融工具而导致的会计风险的方法和措施。     

Fair Value‐related Information in Analysts’ Decision Processes: Evidence from the Financial Crisis

We use a sample of conference calls and analyst research reports from international banks to examine how financial analysts request and communicate fair value‐related information in their valuation process. We find that analysts devote considerable attention to fair value‐related topics. Most of the conference call questions and references in research reports pertain to fair value reclassifications and fair value changes of liabilities resulting from banks’ own credit risk. The accounting impact of these one‐time effects during the financial crisis and a lack of corresponding firm disclosures help to explain the prevalence of these two topics. The content of the questions and references suggests that analysts have different motives for their interest in fair value‐related information. While some analysts adjust reported earnings for unrecognised fair value changes of reclassified assets, most of the observed analysts exclude banks’ own credit risk effects from reported earnings. Thus, the use of fair value‐related information varies substantially across analysts and across instruments.