International Accounting Standards Board 's Preferred Measurement Basis For Financial Reporting

Penman (2007) had stated that historical cost may provide useful margins on turnover for forecasting operating cash flows in a going concern business. On the other hand, when valuing a portfolio of marketable investments with fair value, it tends to be more reliable. Stakeholder of Woolworths includes investors, creditors, lenders and so forth, their needs of accounting information are different. Some of the investors are interested in the information using fair value approach for them to decide whether to buy or sell their shares, some of the lenders and creditors are interested in the current value of assets and liabilities of the entity to decide the ability of the entity to pay off a debt when due. Further, a particular stakeholder need more than one measurement approach to satisfy their needs of accounting information (e.g. considering to engage with Woolworths). Therefore, mixed measurement approach would be more appropriate to satisfy each stakeholder needs of accounting information (Rankin et al., 2012; Dvorakova, D., 2011).

The subsequent valuations are consistent with the Statement of Financial Accounting Standards no. 157, defined as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.”

Several internal factors can influence the valuation of a company, however, in the subsequent are some factors that will assist management in protecting its shareholders. The first reason is the desire to generate profits for the company, as a profitable firm will attract investors. Secondly, the need to improve the management of a company can lead to valuation as the information can be used to spur growth. Valuation will assist in understanding some of the factors affecting the value of the company such as client relationships, financials, image, technology employees, and marketing. Proper management is implemented after identifying the issues affecting the organization’s value. Thirdly, communicating to the public accurate and current information is essential in attracting investors and maintaining transparency, which builds the company image.

It is important to know the proper technique and method of valuing a company because different people may have different ways of assessing the value; it is also important in understanding the bank’s method of appraising and valuing a company or business

Valuation is the estimation of an asset’s value, whether real or financial, based on variables perceived to be related to future investment returns, on comparison with similar assets, or, when relevant, on estimates of immediate liquidation proceeds (Pinto, Henry, Robinson, Stowe; 2010).

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.

The concept of fair value is correct and useful, but can be problematic during periods of crisis. When the market is down, the value of financial assets will be down as well, while, the value of the assets are up in up markets. There will be fluctuations in the fair values based on the current markets, which can cause huge losses in the financial statements. The up to date fair value is a true value that forces the true picture with a company's investments, such as placement of securities in bad lending practices. Fair value reflects a company's present financial condition.

The fair value of an asset is defined as ‘the price that would be received to sell an asset paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date” (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012). It is a market based measure (Averkamp, 2014). Over the past few years, Generally Accepted Accounting Principles has called for the use of fair value measurement in a company’s financial statements. This is what is referred to as the fair value principle (Kieso, Weygandt, & Warfield, 2012). The fair value of an asset or liability is based on an estimate of what the asset should be worth at the time of sale. This gives rise to some conflict among accounting professionals. It is believed that fair value may not be as accurate

an accurate estimation of the intrinsic value of an asset takes into account value of the underlying asset that is calculated through quantitative analysis of its actual quality, including all parts of the business. This worth might possibly be reflected in the present market valuation. quality-seeking investors obtain the value through utilizing various financial approaches, in order to assess the inherent estimation of stocks.

AASB 138 Intangible Assets is equivalent to IAS 38 as issued by the International Accounting Standard Board. This standard prescribes the accounting for intangible assets which are not dealt with specifically in another standard. In simple words, intangible assets are those non-monetary assets which do not have any physical substance. This includes Goodwill, patents, copyrights, research and development, etc. These kinds of assets do not have any physical substance, but these assets add value in the business. For example: According to Forbes, the brand value of Coca-Cola is $54.9 billion, as the brand is such asset which don’t have physical substance, it can be identify as Intangible

According to the analysts fair value accounting of assets and liabilities is more relevant as the basic economic value of instrument is clearly reflected with the use of FVA and they strongly believe that fair value and relevant volatility reflects

AASB 138 defines intangible assets as “identifiable non-monetary assets without physical substance”. Such assets include but are not limited to goodwill, trademarks, patents and research and development. AASB 138 Intangible Assets has been implemented to prescribe the accounting treatment for intangible assets that have not been specifically dealt with in any other standard. Therefore, this standard only applies to intangible assets that have not been previously dealt with. Furthermore, it can be established that this standard is an example of normative accounting theories because the standard prescribes what should be done, rather than predicts what people may do. According to AASB 138 Intangible Assets, in order for an asset to be recognised in the financial statements it must meet specific criteria. The required criterion states that the asset must be identifiable, the entity has control of the asset, future economic benefits are probable and the cost of the asset can be measured reliably.

The use of fair value measurement attribute to enterprise's development has a profound impact. However, the use of fair value is faced with many challenges. Mainly embodied in the following aspects:

ACC307 INDIVIDUAL ASSIGNMENT TASK 1: Contemporary Issues of Accounting Theory Fair Value Measurement Overview After the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) released the IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement in May 2011 for the purpose of completing its joint project with the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on fair value, the Australian Accounting Standard Board (AASB) released the Australian equivalent - AASB 13 Fair Value Measurement in the September of the same year. This standard permitted early adoption but generally started to take effect for the financial reporting periods beginning from 1 January 2013. This new standard requires no new requirement for the adoption and but it was accompanied with the issuing of AASB 2011-8 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards arising from the AASB 13 which has made consequential changes to 32 standards and 9 interpretations for the adoption in Australia. The new standard attempts to unify IFRS and US GAAP by specifying how entities should apply the fair value measurements that applied in previous IFRS standards. It clarifies and redefines fair value as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date”, sometimes referred to as an “exit price”. It also sets out a single source guidance for a robust measurement framework to ensure that the requirements are applied consistently and have clear

According to this concept the asset is recorded in the books of accounts at the price paid for it and not at its market value. For example: if a business entity purchases a building valued at $15 million from a friend for $12 million, this asset would be recorded at $12 million and not at $ 15 million, because for the business entity the cost was $12 million and not $15 million.