International Accounting Convergence in the Field of Fair Value Measurement

Abstract

The investors’ desire for high-quality, internationally comparable financial information that is useful for decision-making in increasingly global capital markets imposed an international convergence, the ultimate goal of which is a single set of international accounting standards that companies worldwide would use for both domestic and crossborder financial reporting. The guidance, set out in IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement and the update to Topic 820 (formerly referred to as SFAS 157), completes a major project of the boards’ joint work to improve IFRSs and US GAAP and to bring about their convergence. This article describes the controversial history of fair value measurement and the main novelties in the field of fair value measurement, arising from the international convergence process.