Revalued Financial, Tangible, and Intangible Assets: Associations with Share Prices and Non Market-Based Value Estimates

This study investigates whether the relevance, reliability, and timeliness of Australian asset revaluation differ across types of assets, including investments, property, plant, and equipment, and intangibles. We also investigate whether they differ if the valuation amount is determined by the firm’s Board of Directors or an independent appraiser, for more versus less timely valuations, and for revalued amounts that are above or below historical cost. We base our inferences on the association between the recognixzed amounts relating to various categories of revalued assets of Australian firms and share prices and non market-based estimates of firm value, which is based on analysts’ earnings forecasts. _x000B__x000B_Our evidence bears directly on revaluation practices under Australian GAAP, However, our evidence also bears indirectly on current issues facing the Financial Accounting Standards Baord (FASB) in the U.S. U.S. GAAP requires disclosure, and the FASB is considering requiring recognition, of air values of all financial instruments. Currently, there is no U.S. proporal to disclose or recognize non-financial instruments. Currently, there is no U.S. proposal to disclose or recognize non-financial assets at fair value (FASB [1991, 1006]). Yet, fair values of all assets likely are relevant to financial statement users. One reason the FASB distinguishes financial and non-financial assets is the belief that fair values are not reliably estimable for non-financial assets, especially intangible assets and tangible assets whose value in use varies from exit or entry value (Landsman and Barth [1995]). Beacuase AUstralian GAAP permits revaluing all long-lived assets at fair value (and many Australian firms do so). examining Australian revaluations by asset class permits us to test this belief. Also, Australian GAAP permits revaluations based on independent appraisers’ or directors’ value estimates, which may differ in reliability, and does not require revaluations every year, possibly affecting relevance and timeliness. We investigate all of these possibilities.