Compose a 1500 words essay on Fair Value. Needs to be plagiarism free!Download file to see previous pages... As per the requirements of IFRS 5, 'the assets that are held for sale are to measured at th

Compose a 1500 words essay on Fair Value. Needs to be plagiarism free!

As per the requirements of IFRS 5, 'the assets that are held for sale are to measured at the lower of carrying amount and fair value less costs to sell' (IASB, n.d.). This means that the asset should be marketed for sale at a price which is arrived by considering the fair value of the asset. This ensures that financial statements provide a more realistic figure for fixed assets that are held for sale.

IAS 16 provides accounting treatment of property, plant and equipment and their revaluation for the purpose of financial reporting. As per the standard, 'after recognition as an asset, an item of property, plant and equipment whose fair value can be measured reliably shall be carried at a revalued amount, being its fair value at the date of the revaluation less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses' (IASB, n.d.). This shows that the standard requires assets to be represented in financial statements at their fair value as a true representation of their actual value at the time of balance sheet development.

This standard deals with recognition, measurement and revaluation of an intangible asset. An intangible asset is a non-monetary asset, and has no physical form. The standard requires revaluation of the intangible asset at the 'fair value at the date of revaluation less any subsequent accumulated amortization and any subsequent accumulated impairment losses' (IASB, n.d.). The fair value is determined with reference to active markets where the prices are available to the public, buyers and sellers are available, and items are traded in homogenous way.

In addition to the above, IAS 32 and IAS 39 require the use of fair value for measuring and presenting the value of financial assets and financial liabilities.

3.Advantages and Disadvantages of Using Fair Value to Measure Value

Fair value is an important estimation and provides valuable information about financial assets and liabilities as compared to their values which are based on historical cost concept (the original price paid to acquire that asset or incur the liability).

Fair value is associated with current market conditions and environment, and hence provides a metric for comparing the value of financial instruments bought at different times.

The fair value disclosure in financial statements provide valuable insight to investors and other stakeholders about realistic value of a company's assets and obligations, hence enhance the usefulness of financial statements.

One critic on using fair value for measuring value is that it is less reliable as compared to the traditional historic cost concept. However, the advocates of fair value argue that it may be less reliable but certainly more relevant to decision makers (Shortridge Schroeder Wagoner, 2006).

Another advantage of using fair value to measure value is that fair value 'improves comparability by making like things look alike and unlike things look different' (Willis, 1998).