as does the committee on accounting and audit Measurement 189-1990 we assume that fair value conceptually are relevant to financial statement users inassessing firm value and define a financial statement item to be value relevant if the information it reflects helps financial statement users to assess firm value we define financial statement users broadly to include creditors and others in adition to equity investors. although the fasb aiso deals with questions of recognition determination of which financail statement items should be recogniZed we assume that all assets and liabilities that potentially are recogniZable uuder ter present accounting model inciuding those that currently are not recognized such as brand names and research and development assets are recogniZed however this assumption should not alter the basic tennor of the conclusions we draw
we base part of our analysis of fair value accounting on an EXample in two settingsa simple setting in which fair values are obtainable from actively traded markets and a more realistic setting where these assumptions are relaxed we also address two financial reporting issues with which the fasb is concerned fair value accounting for liabilities and the implications of fair value accounting for statement of financial accounting concepts of earnings and comphehensive income and the alternative concept of core earnings that presently is being discussed