Fair value: Criticisms and challenges from Critical Accounting Perspective

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D., Department of Accounting, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

2 Associate Prof., Department of Accounting, Faculty of Management, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

Objective: In this research, the critiques of fair value have been studied and an interpretation of these achievements has been provided. Opinions about fair value fall into three categories. A group that strongly supports it. A group that strongly opposes it and a group that for some reason have concerns about it. Understanding the reasons for criticisms of fair value requires a better understanding of the concept of fair value, especially from a theoretical perspective and the evolution of this measurement system. Therefore, in a segment of this research, the historical, political and social contexts that have led to the formation of fair value in different parts of the world have been studied.
Methods: The method used is meta-synthesis which is one of the qualitative methods. In this regard, the steps of arranging research questions, systematically reviewing the literature, searching and selecting appropriate texts, extracting information, analyzing and combining qualitative findings, and presenting interpretations on existing interpretations have been performed.
Results: Review, identification, typology, classification and analysis of different areas of research in the field of fair value from a theoretical-critical perspective is presented. The research represents eight areas of special interest, including theories used in measurement systems, reasons for the formation of fair value, its relationship with standardization and its uses, the role of the theoretical framework of financial reporting in development of fair value, advantages of fair value, disadvantages of fair value, effect of Fair value on financial crises, auditing challenges of fair value and the effect of capitalist and communist financial systems on fair value.
Conclusion: In this study, critiques and challenges on fair value from a theoretical and critical perspective over the last two decades were identified. This research can be used as a roadmap for researchers in fair value studies. It shows the areas of interest in this regard and the sections that can be studied in the future.

Keywords

References

Allen, F. & Carletti, E. (2008). Mark-to-market accounting and liquidity pricing. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 45, 358-378.
Amelzadel, A. & Meeks, G. (2018). Measuring Fair Value When Markets Malfunction: The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting. Available at: SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2943314
Arnold, P. J. (2009). Global financial crisis: The challenge to accounting research, Accounting. Organizations and Society, 34, 803–809.
Baker, C.R. & Hayes, R. (2004). Reflecting form over substance: the case of Enron Corp. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 15, 767–785.
Ball, A. & Haldane, A. (2018). Crisis and fair values: Does the Usage of Fair Values Increase Systemic Risks? The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Barlev, B. & Haddad, J.R. (2003). Fair Value Accounting and The Management of the Firm. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 14, 383–415.
Barlev, B. & Haddad, J.R. (2007). Harmonization, Comparability, and Fair Value Accounting. Journal of Accounting, Auditing and Finance, 22(3), 493-509.
Barth, M. (2007). Standard-setting measurement issues and the relevance of research. Accounting and Business Research, Special issue: International Accounting Policy Forum, 7–15.
Barth, M. E. & Landsman, W. (1995). Fundamental issues related to using fair value accounting for financial reporting. Accounting Horizons, 9 (4): 97-107.
Barth, M.E. (2000). Valuation-based accounting research: Implications for financial reporting and opportunities for future research. Accounting and Finance, 40, 7 – 3.
Benston, G. J. (2006). Fair-value accounting: A cautionary tale from Enron. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 25, 465–484.
Benston, G. J. (2008). The shortcomings of fair value accounting described in SFAS 157. Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, 27, 101–114.
Beuselinck, C. & Verriest, A. (2018). Fair Value Accounting in Financial Institutions. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting, 106–135.
Bhat, G. & Ryan, S. G. (2015). The impact of risk modeling on the market perception of banks’ estimated fair value gains and losses for financial instruments. Accounting, Organizations, and Society, 46, 81-95.
Blaufus, K. & Jacob, M. (2018). Forthcoming in: The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting and Reporting. Edited by: Livne, Gilad and Garen Markarian. London: Routledge. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3036857.
Bryer, R. A. (2005). A Marxist accounting history of the British Industrial Revolution: a review of the evidence and suggestions for research. Account Organ Soc, 30, 25–65.
Campbell, J., Adduzio, J. & Duchac, J. (2018). The Use of Fair Value Accounting in Risk Management in Non-Financial Firms. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Chen, J. & Yu, Y. (2018). Fair Value Accounting China Experience. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Cooper, C. (2015). Accounting for the fictitious: A Marxist contribution to understanding accounting’s roles in the financial crisis. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 30, 63-82.
Cristea, V. (2015). The Necessity to Introduce the Accounting Rules and Fair Value in The Conceptual Framework. Procedia Economics and Finance, 26, 515-521.
Durochera, S. & Gendronb, Y. (2014). Epistemic commitment and cognitive disunity toward fair-value accounting. Accounting and Business Research, 630-655.
Flegm, E. H. (2005). On solving the problem, not being it. The CPA Journal, 75 (2), 12-14.
Georgiou, O. & Jack, L. (2011). In pursuit of legitimacy: A history behind fair value accounting. The British Accounting Review, 43(4), 311-323.
Gilliam, T.A. & Hofmann, R. (2018). Bank Risk Management and Fair Value Accounting. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Golmohammadi, M. & Rahmani, A. (2018). Technical Challenges of Implementing Fair Values in Financial Reporting of Iran: Emphasizing on IFRS13 Requirements. Journal of Accounting and Auditing Review, 25(3), 387-414. (in Persian)
Gwilliam, D. & Jackson, R. (2008). Fair value in financial reporting: Problems and pitfalls in practice A case study analysis of the use of fair valuation at Enron. Accounting Forum, 32, 240–259.
Haswell, S. & Evans, E. (2018). Enron, fair value accounting, and financial crises: a concise history. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 31(1), 25-50.
Hayoun, S. (2019). How fair value is both market-based and entity-specific: The irreducibility of value constellations to market prices. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 73, 68-82.
Heaton, J.C., Lucas, D. & McDonald, R.L. (2010). Is mark-to-market accounting destabilizing? Analysis and implications for policy. Journal of Monetary Economics, 57, 64–75.
Hejazi, R. & Meyhami, S. (2017). Survey adoption of fair value accounting standards and its impact on accounting profit. Empirical Research in Accounting, 7(2), 127-150.
(in Persian)
Hilton, A. & O’brien, P. (2009). Inco Ltd.: Market Value, Fair Value, and Management Discretion. Journal of Accounting Research, 47(1), 179-211.
Hitz, J.M. (2007). The Decision Usefulness of Fair Value Accounting – A Theoretical Perspective. European Accounting Review, 16(2), 323–362.
Holthausen, R. W. & Watts, R. L. (2001). The relevance of the value-relevance literature for financial accounting standard setting. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 31 (1-3), 3-75.
Hopwood, A.G. (2009). The economic crisis and accounting: Implications for the research community. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34, 797–802.
Humphrey, C., Loft, A. & Woods, M. (2009). The global audit profession and the international financial architecture: Understanding regulatory relationships at a time of financial crisis. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34, 810–825.
Ishikawa, J. (2005). A social science of contemporary value-based accounting: economic foundations of accounting for financial instruments. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 16, 115–136.
Jaggi, B. (2010). Is There a Future for Fair Value Accounting After the 2008–2009 Financial Crisis? Review of Pacific Basin Financial Markets and Policies, 13(3), 469–493.
Karami, G. & Beik Boshrouyeh, S. (2017), Developing a Model for Implementing the Fair Value Approach in Iran: With Emphasis on Measurement. Accounting and Auditing Review, 24(4), 573-596. (in Persian)
Kolev, K. (2018). The ‘Fairness’ of Fair Value Accounting. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Kothari, S.P. & Ramanna, K., Skinner, D.J. (2010). Implications for GAAP from an analysis of positive research in accounting. Journal of Accounting and Economics, 50(2–3), 246-286.
Laux, C. & Leuz, C. (2009). The crisis of fair-value accounting: Making sense of the recent debate. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34, 826–834.
Lennard, A. (2018). Fair Value and the Conceptual Framework. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Liao, L., Kang, H., Morris, R. D. & Tang, Q. (2013). Information asymmetry of fair value accounting during the financial crisis. Journal of Contemporary Accounting & Economics, 9(2), 221–236.
Livne, G. & Markarian, G. (2018). Shareholder Value, Fair Value Accounting and Executive Compensation. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Magnan, M. & Parbonetti, A. (2018). Fair Value Accounting a Standard Setting Prospect. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Magnan, M.L. (2009). Fair Value Accounting and the Financial Crisis: Messenger or Contributor? Accounting Prospect, 8(3), 189–213.
Majercakova, D. & Skoda, M. (2015). Fair value in financial statements after financial crisis. Journal of Applied Accounting Research, 16(3), 312-332.
Mantzari, E. & Georgiou, O. (2019). Ideological Hegemony and Consent to IFRS: Insights from Practitioners in Greece. Critical Perspective on Accounting, 59, 70-93.
Markarian, G. (2014). Crisis and fair values: Echoes of early twentieth century debates? Accounting Historians Journal, 41(1), 35–60.
Martin, R.D. & Rich, J. (2006). Auditing Fair Value Measurements: A Synthesis of Relevant Research. Accounting Horizons, 20(3), 287–303.
Mazzola, P. & Buglio, M. (2018). Fair Value Accounting and Family Firms. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
McCarthy, P. D. (2004). Unnecessary complexity in accounting principles. The CPA Journal, 74 (3), 18-19.
McDonough, R. P. & Shakespeare, C. M. (2015). Fair value measurement capabilities, disclosure, and the perceived reliability of fair value estimates: A discussion of Bhat and Ryan (2015). Accounting, Organizations and Society, 46, 96-99.
McSweeney, B. (2009). The roles of financial asset market failure denial and the economic crisis: Reflections on accounting and financial theories and practices. Accounting, Organizations and Society, 34, 835–848.
Mehrani, S., Karami, G. & Taheri, Z. (2020). The Souvenir of Normative Accounting Theories Jornal of Accounting and Accounting Studies, 2(6), 4-19. (in Persian)
Menicucci, E. & Paolucci, G. (2016). Fair Value Accounting and the Financial Crisis: A Literature-based Analysis. Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, 14(1).
Milburn, J.A. (2008). The Relationship between Fair Value, Market Value, and Efficient Markets. Accounting Prospectives, 7(4), 293-316.
Mohammadi, R., Darabi, R. & Sarraf, F. (2020). Investigating the Factors Affecting the Performance of Audit Committees Using the Meta-Synthesis Method. Knowledge of Accounting and Management Auditing, 9(34), 107-126. (in Persian)
Moradi, M., Jafari Daredor, M., & Hosseinzadeh, S. (2019). Challenges and Opportunities for Measuring Fair Value, in International Financial Reporting Standards Adoption in Iran. Journal of Accounting and Auditing Review, 26(3), 456-481. (in Persian)
Muller, J. (2014). An accounting revolution? The financialisation of standard setting. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 25, 539-557.
Okamoto, N. (2014). Fair value accounting from a distributed cognition perspective. Accounting Forum, 38, 170-183.
Omiros, G. & Jack, L. (2011). In pursuit of legitimacy: A history behind fair value accounting. The British Accounting Review, 43(4), 311-323.
Palea, V. (2014). Fair value accounting and its usefulness to financial statement users. Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting, 12(2), 102-116.
Palea, V. (2015). The political economy of fair value reporting and the governance of the standards setting process: Critical issues and pitfalls from a continental European union perspective. Critical Perspective on Accounting, 29, 1-15.
Palea, V. (2018). Shareholder Value, Financialization and Accounting Regulation. The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Palma, J.G. (2009). The revenge of the market on the rentiers. Why neo-liberal reports of the end of history turned out to be premature. Cambridge Journal of Economics, 33(4), 829-869.
Pasandideh Fard, F., Vadizadeh, K. & Sepasi S. (2020). Applying a Meta-Synthesis Qualitative Approach to Identify and Investigate Factors Affecting Financial Reporting Bias. journal of Value & Behavioral Accounting, 5 (9), 301-334. (in Persian)
Peasnell, K. (2018). Have the Standard Setters Gone Too Far or Not Far Enough with Fair Value Accounting? The Routledge Companion to Fair Value in Accounting.
Penman, S.H. (2007). Financial reporting quality: is fair value a plus or a minus? Accounting and Business Research, 37(1), 33-44.
Plantin, G., Sapra, H. & Song Shin, H. (2008). Marking-to-Market: Panacea or Pandora’s Box? Journal of Accounting Research, 46(2).
Power, M. (2010). Fair value accounting, financial economics and the transformation of reliability. Accounting and Business Research, 40(3), 197-210.
Rayman, R.A. (2007). Fair value accounting and the present value fallacy: The need for an alternative conceptual framework. The British Accounting Review, 39, 211–225.
Richard, J. (2004). The Secret Past of Fair Value: Lessons from History Applied to the French Case. Accounting in Europe, 1(1), 95-107.
Richard, J. (2005). The concept of fair value in French and German accounting regulations from 1673 to 1914 and its consequences for the interpretation of the stages of development of capitalist accounting. Critical Prespective on Accounting, 16, 825-850.
Richard, J. (2015). The Dangerous Dynamics of Modern Capitalism (fro, static to IFRS’ Futuristic Accounting). Critical Accounting Prespective, 30, 9-34.
Roberts, J. & Jones, M. (2009). Accounting for self interest in the credit crisis, Accounting. Organizations and Society, 34, 856–867.
Ronan, J. (2008). To Fair Value or Not to Fair Value: A Broader Perspective. Abacus, 44(2), 181-208.
Smith, J., Durocher, S. & Gendron, Y. (2012). The erosion of jurisdiction: Auditing in a market value accounting regime. Critical Perspective on Accounting, 23(1), 36-53.
Soleymani Amiri, Gh. & Mahmoudkhani, M. (2019). Iranian Auditors Perspectives about Auditing of Fair Value Estimates. Journal of Accounting and Auditing Review, 26(2), 255- 278. (in Persian)
Sunder, S. (2008). Econometrics of fair values. Accounting Horizons, 22(1), 111–125.
Uzma, S.H. (2017). Meta-synthesis of fair value accounting effects. International Journal of Critical Accounting, 9(2), 119-139.
Walker, M. (2010). Accounting for varieties of capitalism: The case against a single set of global accounting standards. The British Accounting Review, 42, 137-152.
Whittington, G. (2018). Fair Value and the IASB, FASB Conceptual Framework Project: An Alternative View. Abacus, 44(2), 139-138.
Zeff, S.A. (2007). The SEC rules historic cost accounting: 1934 to the 1970s. Accounting and Business Research, Special Issue: International Accounting Policy Forum, 37(1), 48–62.
Zhang, E. & Andrew, J. (2014). Financialisation and the Conceptual Framework. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 25(1), 17-26.
Zhang, E. & Andrew, J. (2016). Rethinking China: Discourse, convergence and fair value accounting. Critical Perspectives on Accounting 36, 1-22.
Zhang, Y., Andrew, J. & Rudkin, K. (2012). Accounting as an instrument of Neoliberalisation? Exploring the adoption of fair value accounting in China. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 25 (8), 1-29.
Accounting and Auditing Review
Volume 29, Issue 2
2022
Pages 359-403

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics