Groups Urge Retention of Accounting Standard

Washington — A coalition representing accountants, consumers and institutional investors has written Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Christopher Cox to express concern regarding recent calls for the SEC to suspend fair value or mark-to-market accounting. 

The letter’s authors say urgings to override guidance issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the SEC staff and suspend the accounting standards are not in the public interest.
 
“A move by the SEC to suspend fair value accounting would be a disservice to the capital markets, would be inconsistent with the views of investors, would harm the credibility and independence of the standards setting process, and would run counter to fundamental notice and comment principles,” the letter, signed by Cindy Fornelli, executive director of the Washington-based Center for Audit Quality, states. “No one disputes that these are trying economic times.  However, the current crisis of liquidity, credit, and confidence was not caused by fair value accounting; rather, sound accounting principles helped expose the problem.”
 
Source: Center for Audit Quality