Views on improving the integrity of global capital markets
30 November 2010

Academic or Economic Reality?

Posted In: Financial Reporting

We sometimes hear criticisms of our position on fair value accounting that suggest we’re taking an academic view of things with dubious relevance to economic reality. Interesting, then, to read Jack Cieselski’s analysis of a pending bank acquisition at a hefty discount to the market price before the acquisition was announced. (Full disclosure: Jack Cieselski has provided consulting services to CFA Institute staff in the past). The acquisition target reports fair value adjustments in the footnotes that reflect “entry” fair value pricing, reflecting the value of a loan if it were to be made at the time of reporting given prevailing conditions. The acquirer, however, looked at “exit” fair value pricing as part of its due diligence, reflecting what a loan would fetch in an orderly market between willing buyers and sellers. Not such an academic exercise given the dramatic difference in valuations, which was clearly reflected in the pricing of the transaction.

Investors might have appreciated the acquirer’s approach. As we highlight on the first page of our comment letter (PDF), markets price such fair values and for that reason we believe financial statements should reflect them.

About the Author(s)
Bob Dannhauser, CFA

Bob Dannhauser, CFA, was the head of global private wealth management at CFA Institute.

1 thought on “Academic or Economic Reality?”

  1. This comment is testing email.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *



By continuing to use the site, you agree to the use of cookies. more information

The cookie settings on this website are set to "allow cookies" to give you the best browsing experience possible. If you continue to use this website without changing your cookie settings or you click "Accept" below then you are consenting to this.

Close