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Assets should always be recorded at their cost, when the asset is new and also for the life of the asset. For instance, land purchased for $30,000 is appraised at the much higher value because the housing market has risen, but the reported value of the land will remain $30,000. [1] [2] [3]
An entity may choose to report this fair value on its balance sheet (fair value model) or disclose it in the footnotes (cost model). If the entity chooses to apply the fair value model, "A gain or loss arising from a change in the fair value of investment property shall be recognised in profit or loss for the period in which it arises." (IAS 40 ...
Historical cost principle: requires companies to account and report assets' and liabilities' acquisition costs rather than fair market value. This principle provides information that is reliable (removing opportunity to provide subjective and potentially biased market values), but not very relevant. Thus there is a trend to use fair values.
In 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) implemented SFAS 157 in order to expand disclosures about fair value measurements in financial statements. [3] Fair-value accounting or "Mark-to-Market" is defined by FAS 157 as "a 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".
Simple example If an investor owns 10 shares of a stock purchased for $4 per share, and that stock now trades at $6, the "mark-to-market" value of the shares is equal to (10 shares * $6), or $60, whereas the book value might (depending on the accounting principles used) equal only $40.
The lower of cost or market concept first became part of normal accounting practices in England during the nineteenth century. Lower of cost or market was considered fair because assets were valued on a going-concern basis, rather than the price at which the assets were purchased.
Various adjustments to historical cost are used, many of which require the use of management judgment and may be difficult to verify. The trend in most accounting standards is towards more timely reflection of the fair or market value of some assets and liabilities, although the historical cost principle remains in use.
In valuing a mining project or mining property, fair market value is the standard of value to be used. In general, [ 22 ] this result will be a function of the property's "reserve" - the estimated size and grade of the deposit in question - and the complexity and costs of extracting this.