Mark-to-market Accounting: 'True North' in financial reporting (Routledge New Works in Accounting History)

Book Cover......Page 1
Half-Title......Page 2
Title......Page 4
Copyright......Page 5
Dedication......Page 6
Contents......Page 7
Notes on author and editor......Page 10
Foreword......Page 12
Letter from Fred Talton......Page 14
Acknowledgments......Page 15
1 Walter P.Schuetze......Page 17
A call for accounting and auditing reform......Page 20
“True north” in financial accounting and reporting......Page 22
Mark-to-market accounting: historical and contemporary perspectives......Page 26
The cost of implementing mark-to-market accounting......Page 30
Who should mandate mark-to-market accounting?......Page 31
A concluding comment......Page 32
Bibliography......Page 33
2 Autobiography......Page 36
Addendum......Page 45
Part I Accounting for assets and liabilities......Page 48
The articles......Page 49
The speeches and addresses......Page 52
The letters......Page 57
4 Keep it simple......Page 62
Notes......Page 67
5 What is an asset?......Page 68
6 What are assets and liabilities?......Page 75
References......Page 100
7 New chief accountant’s wish list......Page 101
8 Relevance and credibility in financial accounting and reporting......Page 106
9 Why are we all here anyway?......Page 115
10 Accounting for restructurings......Page 119
11 Enforcement issues, and is the cost of purchased goodwill an asset?......Page 126
12 Cookie jar reserves......Page 131
13 Financial instruments......Page 136
Financial instruments......Page 138
14 Accounting for transfers of receivables (by Tom, Dick, and Harry)......Page 140
Notes......Page 146
15 Discount rate re cash outflows for nuclear decommissioning and environmental remediation......Page 148
16 Discount rate for pension liabilities......Page 151
17 Exposure Draft E55: Impairment of Assets......Page 153
18 Exposure Draft E59: Provisions, Contingent Liabilities, and Contingent Assets......Page 155
19 Exposure Drafts E60: Intangible Assets, and E61: Business Combinations......Page 158
20 Business combinations and intangible assets......Page 163
21 Accounting for the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets and for obligations associated with disposal activities......Page 170
22 Business combinations and intangible assets......Page 173
23 The FASB and accounting for goodwill......Page 177
24 Accounting for financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities, equity, or both......Page 181
25 Accounting for stock options issued to employees......Page 184
26 Proposed interpretation: guarantor’s accounting and disclosure requirements for guarantees, including indirect guarantees of indebtedness of others .........Page 190
27 Your proposed interpretation......Page 191
Part II The implications of accounting practices for auditing......Page 194
28 Schuetze on the implications of accounting practices for auditing......Page 195
The articles......Page 196
The speeches and addresses......Page 202
Impairment and the winds of change......Page 205
Little clarity in the literature......Page 206
Proposals and projects......Page 207
Roadblocks to recognition and measurement criteria......Page 208
An interim solution......Page 209
A practical alternative......Page 210
A field test for disclosure......Page 211
30 The liability crisis in the USA and its impact on accounting......Page 212
31 Reporting by independent auditors on internal controls......Page 218
Is there a cost benefit?......Page 219
Will it prevent fraud?......Page 220
The problem of ambiguous accounting principles......Page 221
Not a solution......Page 223
32 A mountain or a molehill?......Page 225
33 Comments on certain aspects of the special report by the AICPA’s Public Oversight Board of 5 March 1993......Page 234
Notes......Page 240
34 Enforcement issues......Page 242
Postscript......Page 248
Part III Accounting standard setting and regulation......Page 250
35 Schuetze on accounting standard setting and regulation......Page 251
The speeches and addresses......Page 252
The letter......Page 261
36 The setting of international accounting standards......Page 263
37 What is the future of mutual recognition of financial statements, and is comparability really ncessary?......Page 267
38 A note about private-sector standard setting......Page 272
39 Take me out to the ball game......Page 276
40 Financial accounting and reporting in our worldwide economy......Page 282
Disclosures about derivatives......Page 290
Accounting for derivatives......Page 292
Internal audit outsourcing......Page 293
42 A review of the FASB’s accomplishments since its inception in 1973......Page 295
43 Current developments at the SEC......Page 300
Postscript......Page 306
44 A memo to national and international accounting and auditing standard setters and securities regulators (a Christmas pony) .........Page 307
Notes......Page 317
45 Hearing......Page 319
46 Watching a game of three-card monte on Times Square......Page 326
Notes......Page 334
47 IASC due process......Page 336
Index......Page 340