Common dilemma (TT Oct07 p34-35)

Two years after international financial reporting standards were introduced, shareholders are still unsure of their value. Two contrasting approaches are being adopted: a conservative approach that focuses on IFRS-friendly products, or an approach that views shareholder value as paramount and accepts unavoidable income statement volatility as and when it occurs. For the treasurer the dilemma is whether accounting or economics-based decisions should be pre-eminent. However, some companies have demonstrated that income statement volatility from financial instruments accounting can be explained successfully.