Mike, i have just sent this e-mail to the FASB executive who is dealing with the project regarding the changes to pooling of interests accounting:
Dear Mr. Jenkins,
as a foreign investor i have followed the current debate on pooling of interests accounting with great interest.
while i acknowledge that the arguments of the opponents to the changes proposed by FASB may have some merit in certain cases (pure purchase accounting may indeed not be ideal to capture the true value of certain intangibles like intellectual property), i would nevertheless urge you to persist with your pressing for change.
as things stand now, i am under the impression that the current practices are grossly abused in order to 'massage' quarterly earnings reports to please Wall Street and that in the process valuable information for the investor is lost. it is not surprising that the most prolific abusers are among the most vocal critics of your proposals.
the main thrust of the critics argument is spurious in my opinion. if a merger makes economic sense, it will be consummated no matter what the accounting rules are. thus it is not true that the adoption of more conservative standards will hold back the "new economy" or impede economic growth as is claimed by the critics.
yes, there would be not as many mergers under the new rules. but that would be a result of uneconomic mergers not being pursued anymore.
i believe the main motivation for corporate executives wanting to hang on to the current system is the fear that once the massaging of earnings and revenues numbers can not be practiced anymore, the value of their stock options might be endangered, as the market would gain awareness of the true facts which are now so artfully hidden.
the current investment climate is very reminiscent of speculative bubbles of the past, and to me the pooling of interests accounting method smacks of the 'bezzle' factor, which J.K. Galbraith has described in his work on the 1920's investment mania.
it seems that everything that will keep stock prices aloft is now welcomed, no matter how dubious.
for a serious investor the casino mentality that has taken hold of the market is deeply disturbing. anything that contributes to it should be fought with vigor.
Yours sincerely,
H. D. Blasnik |
