Quale applicabilità prospettica per il fair value? Profili storici ed analisi evolutiva

The criterion of fair value, since its first appearance and application in international accounting system, has been the subject of extensive revisions. This paper presents an analysis of this criterion in order to reconstruct its historical evolution and illustrate the rules as defined in the various stages of the evolutionary process. First will be used in IAS 39 with whom it was introduced the measurement at fair value, and then move on to an examination of the new IFRS 9 and IFRS 13 that reviewed the definition of fair value and its scope. In fact, the "standard setter" over the years have largely altered that evaluation mode. Initially, changes have been provided in its application in order to be more respondent in valuating particular items of financial statements. Lately, the IASB and FASB have moved to reconsider the proper definition of fair value. The constant changes that the criterion of fair value have undergone, especially as a result of the recent financial crisis that has highlighted the debate about its application, indicate a difficulty in using the test criterion. The purpose of this paper is also to briefly compare the fair value accounting traditional criteria such as historical cost to examine the differences both with regard to the cultural context in which the two principles developed for the effects that occur on the budget as a result of their application. However, this paper does not presume to establish which is the best policy. The goal of this paper is to provide useful insights for the full understanding of the evolutionary process of fair value, the importance that policy is having in the economic reality of the last few years and the possibilities for future application.