Will we ever get transatlantic agreement on accounting standards?

The UK's House of Lords Select Committee on Economic Affairs stated in a report this week that: "Mark-to-market accounting generates verifiable information about banks. Without it investors would be less well-informed, and confidence would suffer in downturns. Regulators should not abandon mark-to-market accounting, but supervisors must identify ways to ensure that it does not amplify the economic cycle."

Also this week the American Bankers Association, along with four other financial services organisations, sent a letter to the members of the USA's House Financial Services Committee expressing continued concern over mark-to-market accounting and impairment rules in which they stated: "Mark to market does not provide the most relevant measurement basis for many types of transactions... FASB's emphasis on mark-to-market not only results in misleading information in a distressed market, but it can also result in misleading information in a typical market."

Personally I prefer the independent view of the House of Lords.

 Mark to Market  0 Comments June 4th, 2009