Cox Signals No Major Shake-Up for Fair Value

SEC Chairman Christopher Cox, speaking this week at an AICPA conference, said investors have told the SEC that fair value measurement has increased transparency in financial reporting. But Cox signaled that the SEC would call for some additional guidance on fair value measurements.

View highlights from Cox’s speech.

Cox devoted a portion of his 30-minute speech to stressing the need for independence in accounting standards setting. “Accounting standards aren’t just another financial rudder to be pulled when the economic ship drifts in the wrong direction,” Cox said. “The truth is that the value of independent standard setting is greatest when the going gets tough. The more serious the stresses on the market, the more important it is to maintain investor confidence.”