My latest post was about general problems with asset “impairment” accounting — its absurdity, high cost and dubious information value. And I haven’t even begun to hone in on the wurst part: goodwill impairment. It is somewhat more challenging to think about recognition…
Two recent news items have made this an opportune time for a post — actually, two posts — about the accounting for the “impairment” of an asset. The SEC is considering whether Exxon violated the securities laws by failing to record an…
My inspirations for this post are the maiden speech of the SEC’s new chief accountant James Schnurr, and the joy of paying only $2.02/gallon at the pump. As for Mr. Schnurr, I plan to dissect his remarks more fully in…
It should come as no great surprise to savvy analysts that far too many accounting standards were written to benefit someone else other than investors and analysts. FAS 144 on impairment of long-lived asset is yet another example, but perhaps…