Wednesday, October 29, 2008

"Morning Edition" Piece on Mark-to-Market Accounting

This morning, just in time for today's SEC roundtable on the topic, NPR's Morning Edition aired a 5 minute audio piece on mark-to-market accounting.  Correspondent David Kestenbaum's report provides a concise and plain language description of the mark-to-market accounting concept and the controversy surrounding it.  In their typical Morning Edition style, the piece contained quotes from various sides of the controversey over whether to reform mark-to-market accounting requirements, or do away with the concept altogether. 

For a more fulsome discussion of the competing interests in the mark-to-market reforms, see K&L Gates' Edward G. Eisert and Mark D. Perlow's short piece, Fair Value Accounting: SEC and FASB Relax Fair Value Rules; Controversy Continues, discussing the competing forces shaping the SEC and FASB's recent re-examination of mark-to-market accounting. 

The full audio report and a transcript are available at:  http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=96229610