Fair Value

Asian Social Science

March, 2010

Perspective on Fair Value Measurement

Shipan Sun

School of Accounting, Shandong Economic University

Jinan 250014, China

E-mail: ssp_sie@163.com

Abstract

Although fair value is not a new measurement attribute, the interest of discussing fair value has been aroused by the

release of new accounting standards. This article decodes fair value measurement again from four aspects respectively.

Fair value measurement attribute is for asset measurement in the end, a kind of initiative measurement from

master-slave relationship. As a matter of fact, fair value measurement is a measurement process. However, considering

the special time, the relationship of exclusiveness does not exist between fair value and other measurement attributes.

Simultaneously, fair value refers to fairness of value in special time and it is meaningless for fair value without the

concept of time.

Keywords: Fair value, Assets, Measurement attribute

With rapid development of Chinese economy, whether accounting reflection corresponds to outside demands has

gradually become a much-talked-about topic in the circle of accounting theory and practice. The central issue of

accounting reflection rests with the quality of accounting data generated through accounting measurement. Just as the

independence of auditing is soul of auditing, the quality of accounting data is soul of accounting. Accounting data with

high quality is an important symbol for actual reflection of accounting. There have been various opinions on whether

introduction of fair value measurement in accounting practice in China can generate accounting data with high quality.

Those who hold a supportive opinion believe that, as an artificial accounting information system, estimation and

hypothesis are intrinsic in accounting, so measurement of fair value does not affect its reliability (Xie Shifen, 2004).

Reliability is just an issue of degree, and there does not exist any measurement...