An introduction to valuation for financial reporting ("fair value"), fair value reporting, and auditing fair value measurements. The number and complexity of financial reporting standards that require or allow assets and liabilities to be reported at fair value has increased substantially in recent years. The technical accounting standards that include fair value are complex in and of themselves, and the valuation measurements add substantially to the complexity. Further complexity is added to the dynamic because the audit firm is prohibited by the AICPA's independence rules from performing the valuation or providing significant assistance in technical accounting or the fair value measurement. Independent valuation/appraisal specialists are frequently preferred or required by the reporting company and/or the audit firm. From the perspective of the reporting company, this frequently results in complex and costly compliance, and from the auditor's perspective, a complex and high-risk area of the audit.
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