The Investment Management Association (IMA) has welcomed the paper published today on fair value accounting by the Global Public Policy Committee (GPPC), which is made up of the six main accounting practices^[1].  The IMA believes this paper will help raise further awareness of the requirements for fair value measurement of financial assets and liabilities, along with the related disclosures, as set by International Financial Reporting Standards.  It will also go some way to ensure that the current market turmoil does not result in inconsistent application of existing standards on fair value for 31 December year ends.

Commenting, Liz Murrall, Senior Adviser for Corporate Governance at the IMA said:

"The fact that the main practices have come together to draw up this guidance in advance of the year end is welcome. The current ‘credit crunch' means that this is not a normal market and there are not necessarily going to be willing buyers and sellers to determine fair value.  This is a global problem which will have an impact on all entities, not just financial institutions.  In this situation there is bound to be considerable uncertainty around valuations and the need to secure uniform standards is ever more important."

The GPPC paper can be viewed here

-ENDS-

About IMA

The IMA is the trade body for the UK's £3,100 billion asset management industry.  The money its members manage is in a wide variety of investment vehicles including authorised investment funds, pension funds and stocks and shares ISAs.  Its role is to represent the industry and promote high standards.

For further information, please contact:
Noreen Shah, Press Officer, IMA, 020 7831 0898            
Mona Patel, Head of Communications, IMA, 020 7831 0898

Out of hours:
Mona Patel, Head of Communications, 07834 089 332

Notes

[1]. The paper has been published by the Global Public Policy Committee (GPPC), which is made up of the six largest international accounting networks. GPPC comprises representatives of BDO International, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Grant Thornton International, KPMG, and PricewaterhouseCoopers and focuses on public policy issues for the profession.