With the world's markets in cardiac arrest, what are the major accounting hurdles for this year?
According to a report from Moody's, How the Global Credit and Economic Crises are Affecting Accounting and Financial Reporting Issues, there are some big ones to watch out for.
The first and most obvious is fair value. According to Moody's, it will continue to be an issue because of depressed asset values and persistent illiquidity in certain markets. What's even more worrying is the warning that we will see more firms taking more "other than temporary impairment" charges in the coming quarters.
The second big issue to watch out for is the defined benefit pension. This was hit hard by enormous losses in 2008. It warns that liabilities for underfunded plans will increase significantly this year and there could be serious liquidity issues.
The third is the level of charges for impairment and restructuring. Moody's expects that will increase this year.
There is also a warning about the impact of stock prices on cash for companies. Tax benefits associated with the exercise of employee stock options have been a significant source of cash for some companies. But when the company's stock price falls below the exercise price of the stock options, it can eliminate that source of cash.
Watch this space.
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