Nieuws 03 januari 2009

SEC: geen versoepeling fair value

Financiële instellingen hoeven in de Verenigde Staten niet te rekenen op versoepeling van de regels voor fair value-waardering. Beurstoezichthouder SEC komt in een studie tot de conclusie dat fair value geen belangrijke rol heeft gespeeld in het ontstaan van de kredietcrisis.

De SEC deed het onderzoek in opdracht van het Amerikaanse Congres als onderdeel van de Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of Act 2008. 

Wel vindt de SEC dat bedrijven meer uitleg moeten krijgen bij het toepassen van de waarderingsregels. Zo moet regelgever FASB ondernemingen helpen te bepalen wanneer de markt voor bepaalde financiële activa is opgedroogd. 

De SEC erkent daarnaast dat de regels voor fair value niet perfect zijn, ondanks het uitgebreide consultatieproces dat voorafgaat aan de introductie van nieuwe regels, zoals bij de omstreden FASB-standaard 157 over fair value. De toezichthouder doet de aanbeveling om na de introductie van nieuwe standaarden de uitwerking in de praktijk te beoordelen. De FASB zou hiervoor een formeel proces moeten opzetten. 

De SEC doet in het rapport in totaal acht aanbevelingen, voornamelijk gericht aan de FASB: 

• Development of additional guidance and other tools for determining fair value when relevant market information is not available in illiquid or inactive markets, including consideration of the need for guidance to assist companies and auditors in addressing:

  • How to determine when markets become inactive and whether a transaction or group of transactions are forced or distressed
  • How the impact of a change in credit risk on the value of an asset or liability should be estimated
  • When should observable market information be supplemented with and/or reliance placed on unobservable information in the form of management estimates
  • How to confirm that assumptions utilized are those that would be used by market participants and not just a specific entity

• Enhancement of existing disclosure and presentation requirements related to the effect of fair value in the financial statements.

• Educational efforts, including those to reinforce the need for management judgment in the determination of fair value estimates.

• Examination by the FASB of the impact of liquidity in the measurement of fair value, including whether additional application and/or disclosure guidance is warranted.

• Assessment by the FASB of whether the incorporation of credit risk in the measurement of liabilities provides useful information to investors, including whether sufficient transparency is provided currently in practice.

The report also recommends that FASB reassess current impairment accounting models for financial instruments, including consideration of narrowing the number of models under U.S. GAAP. The report finds that under existing accounting requirements, information about impairments is calculated, recognized and reported on basis that often differs by asset type. The report recommends improvements, including: reducing the number of models utilized for determining and reporting impairments, considering whether the utility of information available to investors would be improved by providing additional information about whether current declines in value are consistent with management expectations of the underlying credit quality, and reconsidering current restrictions on the ability to record increases in value (when market prices recover). 

Verder lezen: 

• SEC: Fair Value's Savior (CFO.com)