Study On Fair Value Measurements From Historical And Practical Perspectives

Fair value measurements have been extensively applied in the US Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and International Financial Reporting Standards. In recent years, FASB and IASB have intensified research on fair value measurements and planned to further expand the scope of applicability of fair value measurements. In February 2006, China's Ministry of Finance released a new system of accounting standards, which incorporates fair value measurements to a certain extent and to a certain degree.However, organizations responsible for formulating the principles, enterprises, social bodies and academia are locked in a dispute over the advantages and disadvantages of fair value measurements, and no consensus has been reached yet. This dissertation first reviews the evolution process of fair value measurements, examines the factors that have facilitated or hindered fair value measurements, and elaborates on the latest developments of fair value measurements. Then this dissertation provides an analysis of the influence of fair value measurements on the quality of accounting information in terms of empirical research, investigation reports and theories. On the strength of such analysis, this dissertation expounds the relationship between fair value and enterprise value and the constraints on the application of fair value measurements as imposed by the cost-benefit principle, and asserts that the mixed measurement model is currently the best measurement choice in financial accounting, and that the application of fair value measurement at present should preferably be limited to financial instruments (including derivative financial instruments) and other assets and liabilities which are held for transaction purposes and can generate separate cash flows.Last, this dissertation briefly reviews the development of fair value measurements in China and comments on the adoption of fair value measurements in China's new accounting standards. In particular, it probes the influence of fair value measurements on current accounting theories in terms of the influence of fair value measurements on the basic hypotheses of financial accounting, the influence of fair value measurements on accounting objectives, and the influence of fair value measurements on accounting principles. It also investigates the influence of fair value measurements on current practices in six aspects, including the influence of fair value measurements on revenue recognition, fair value measurements and profit manipulations, the application of fair value measurements to business combinations in China, the distribution of profits derived from fair value measurements, performance assessment, and the influence of fair value measurements on auditing.