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.     

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。     

Equity valuation in practice: The influence of net financial expenses

This study investigates the relevance of net financial expenses with respect to equity valuation in an IFRS accounting regime. According to the residual earnings valuation model, income related to balance sheet items that are recorded at fair value is not applicable for valuation purposes. There are no residual earnings associated with these items because the balance sheet provides ‘perfect’ value estimates for the items in question. In accordance with the contention that under IFRS, aggregate net financial liabilities are recorded at a book value that is close to fair value, this study demonstrates that net financial expenses are not associated with the market prices of stocks. The investigation discusses the empirical findings in light of the enduring controversies regarding the use of fair value accounting.     

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.     

《金融工具确认和计量》准则对基金投资的影响

现行会计准则体系中《金融工具确认和计量》准则首次对金融工具的确认和计量做出了相关规定。本文分析了该准则对基金投资可能产生的影响，认为一方面公允价值计量模式将引起基金估值的变化，另一方面公允价值变动可能引起基金分红规模的扩大，这对基金投资者的影响是显而易见的。本文结合这两方面的影响对基金投资提出了相关建议。     

Fair value accounting: Simulacra and simulation

The paper examines the application of simulacra and simulation in fair value accounting for financial instruments in the U.S. As copies of copies, simulacra problematize the notion of an original and with it an imaginary of a single authentic reality. We examine simulacra as they have been applied in two interconnected fair value accounting arenas. Firstly, simulacra employed as a measurement basis for certain financial instruments. In this regard, we challenge the FASB's insistence that fair value accounting is an originary market based measurement system. Secondly, we examine the process of simulation as employed by the FASB in copying and amending FAS 157 in its subsequent modifications to the guidance provided to the preparers of financial statements. Our purpose here is to both reinforce the absence of a market reality and also to illustrate how the FASB's subsequent modifications to FAS 157 were shaped by political forces. We conclude with some suggestions as to how simulacra and a politicization process might be productively embraced in future fair value accounting endeavors.     

The Value Relevance of Financial Institutions' Fair Value Disclosures: A Study in the Difficulty of Linking Unrealized Gains and Losses to Equity Values

This article provides a residual-income valuation framework for assessing whether fair value disclosures required by SFAS 119, Disclosures About Derivative Financial Instruments and Fair Values of Financial Instruments , are value-relevant. The primary theoretical and empirical result is that when using a residual-income valuation model, the estimated relation between variables measuring fair value-book value differences for financial instruments and security prices may be contrary to what one would have expected. Specifically, the greater the firm's return on invested capital and growth rate relative to its cost of capital, the more negative the estimated relation between fair value-book value differences for financial instruments and security prices. A generalization of this result is that tests linking equity values to various types of unrecognized gains and losses are, in many cases, unlikely to generate the hypothesized positive relation between equity values and the unrecognized gains and losses.     

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.     

What Do FAS 157 “Fair Values” Really Measure: Value Or Risk?

FAS 157, the U.S. accounting standard that prescribes how fair values of assets and liabilities are to be measured when other U.S. GAAP standards require fair valuation, stipulates that fair values be measured as the exit values of assets and liabilities—the proceeds for assets hypothetically sold on the date of the financial report, and, correspondingly, the amount required to settle liabilities on the date of the financial report. This conceptual article argues that exit values do not reflect the value of the net assets of the firm to shareholders, which is best reflected by discounted cash flows to maturity. Moreover, exit values—biasing fair values downward when markets are illiquid—have a pernicious, systemic risk effect; specifically, they give rise to write‐downs that in turn cause contagion: prices of equities and other financial instruments of peers react negatively, leading to further write‐downs by those peers. This may have aggravated the recent financial crisis. However, while exit values are not proper measures of value to shareholders, they are useful measures of downside risk when prospects turn sour for a firm. Thus, both exit values and discounted cash flows should be presented in financial statements.     

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.     

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。     

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。     

金融工具公允价值信息的价值相关性

本文以会计信息决策有用性的计量观为基础,通过实证方法对比分析了新企业会计准则实施前后,公允价值是否改进会计信息对公司股票市场价格的影响,以及金融工具的公允价值信息与历史成本对公司股票市场价格的影响;新准则实施后公允价值变动损益对公司的股票市场价值的影响。研究结果表明:在引入公允价值计量属性后,盈余信息和净资产账面价值对模型的整体解释能力有所提高;公允价值计量的金融工具具有显著的增量价值相关性和相对价值相关性,投资者在投资决策时已经开始考虑公允价值因素,金融工具公允价值信息具有价值相关性。     

Contractibility and Transparency of Financial Statement Information Prepared Under IFRS: Evidence from Debt Contracts Around IFRS Adoption

We outline several properties of IFRS that potentially affect the contractibility or the transparency of financial statement information, and hence the use of that information in debt contracts. Those properties include the increased choice among accounting rules IFRS gives to managers, enhanced rule‐making uncertainty, and increased emphasis on fair value accounting. Consistent with reduced contractibility of IFRS financial statement information, we find a significant reduction in accounting‐based debt covenants following mandatory IFRS adoption. The reduction in accounting covenant use is associated with measures of the difference between prior domestic standards and IFRS. Because IFRS adoption changed financial reporting in many ways simultaneously, it is difficult to trace the decline in accounting covenant use to individual IFRS properties, though we report larger declines in accounting covenant use in banks, which have a higher proportion of assets and liabilities that are fair‐valued. Our findings are better explained by reduced contractibility than by increased transparency, which would predict reduced nonaccounting covenant use as well, whereas we observe increases. Overall, we conclude that IFRS rules sacrifice debt contracting usefulness to achieve other objectives, such as provision of accounting information relevant to valuation.     

Research Note: Revisiting Fair Value Accounting––Measuring Commercial Banks' Liabilities

IAS 39, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement (IASB, 2000), requires assets to be marked to fair value if held-for-trading, available-for-sale purposes, or if they are derivatives; held-to-maturity securities, originated loans and originated securities are measured at amortized cost, providing they are not held-for-trading. Financial liabilities are measured at amortized cost except those that are held-for-trading or derivatives. A proposed amendment would accommodate improved fair value measurement of financial instruments. Commercial banks are greatly affected by any accounting standard concerning the recognition and measurement of financial instruments, whether related to assets or liabilities. This article demonstrates that the existing and proposed standards perpetuate the mismeasurement of interest rate risk for commercial banks. Under IAS 39 banks that have a balanced position, that is, no interest rate risk, counterfactually could show large changes in income through interest rate changes. An alternative accounting treatment, full fair value reporting of financial assets and liabilities, including all loans and deposits, is offered. Presently fair value data are mandated as footnote disclosure.     

Is mark-to-market accounting destabilizing? Analysis and implications for policy

Fundamental economic principles provide a rationale for requiring financial institutions to use mark-to-market, or fair value, accounting for financial reporting. The recent turmoil in financial markets, however, has raised questions about whether fair value accounting is exacerbating the problems. In this paper, we review the history and practice of fair value accounting, and summarize the literature on the channels through which it can adversely affect the real economy. We propose a new model to study the interaction of accounting rules with regulatory capital requirements, and show that even when market prices always reflect fundamental values, the interaction of fair value accounting rules and a simple capital requirement can create inefficiencies that are absent when capital is measured by adjusted book value. These distortions can be avoided, however, by redefining capital requirements to be procyclical rather than by abandoning fair value accounting and the other benefits that it provides.     

Valuation-based accounting research: Implications for financial reporting and opportunities for future research

This paper discusses the relation between financial reporting research and practice, particularly standard setters. Many studies addressing financial reporting issues use a valuation approach. The paper describes alternative approaches to valuation research and summarises the findings relating to four major current issues: fair value accounting for financial, tangible, and intangible assets, cash flows versus accruals, recognition versus disclosure, and international harmonisation of accounting standards. The summaries include identifying what standard setters and others would like to learn from research, what we have learned, and what is left to learn. The paper concludes with observations about future financial reporting academic research.     

后危机时代对公允价值计量的再思考

20世纪80年代随着衍生工具的盛行,历史成本计量对此显得无能为力,在争论和探讨中公允价值计量属性在美国初步确立。伴随着次贷危机的爆发,对公允价值的利弊的探讨更是被推到风口浪尖。在此基础上,本文对公允价值起源及发展历程进行简要综述,并与历史成本计量属性进行比较分析,最后对金融危机下对公允价值思考以及未来发展趋势进行了初步探究。     

A Review of the Role of Financial Reporting in the Global Financial Crisis

The aim of this article is to review the recent literature that examines the performance of financial reporting in the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). In analysing the GFC a large number of commentators have attributed blame to financial reporting, in particular to the use of fair values (FVs) in reporting financial instruments in bank balance sheets. Based on a review of the emerging evidence, the main conclusions are that: (i) there is no empirical evidence that fair‐value accounting (FVA) during the GFC added to the severity of the crisis; (ii) further research is required to determine whether FVA in the years immediately preceding the crisis exacerbated the GFC because of the possibility that some of the FV gains reported may have been illusory; (iii) the existing literature has largely ignored the role of financial reports in the determination of a firm's cost of capital, although it is through this avenue that, in a crisis, financial reporting could play its most significant role; and (iv) the bulk of the commentary associated with financial reporting and the GFC has revolved around the valuation objective of financial reporting, even though financial reports also have a stewardship objective. Failure of financial reporting to satisfy this objective in the years preceding the GFC could have exacerbated the crisis. More consideration needs to be given to this latter issue to enable a complete assessment of the role of financial reporting in the GFC.     

Financial instruments in non-financial firms: what do we know?

Accounting for financial instruments is one of the most controversial standard setting issues. Attempts by standard setters to expand the scope of fair value measurement provoked fierce opposition from preparers, in particular from the financial industry but also, albeit less frequently and less scathingly, from non-financial firms. Academic research could help to bring the discussion onto a more objective level. Most of the existing research focuses on the financial industry and uses US disclosure data from the 1990s. More recent papers use recognition and measurement data from IFRS financial statements, again primarily from the financial industry. This paper provides novel evidence on the relevance of financial instruments for non-financial firms of the STOXX Europe 600 Index. The results in particular refute the myths that fair value measurement of financial instruments is pervasive and that many fair value measurements are of the problematic ‘level 3’ quality. The empirical evidence forms the background for a survey of the small body of existing research on the effects of accounting standards relating to financial instruments on non-financial firms. This survey covers research on the effects on risk management, on the volatility of cash flows and earnings, on earnings management and on the effects on user decisions. Both in the empirical sections and in the survey sections, I identify a number of areas for further research to overcome the poor current state of knowledge.