Data Envelopment Analysis of Fair Value Versus Historical Cost Accounting An Insight into Thailand's Insurance Sector

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Keertiman Sharma

Abstract

     


In today’s dynamic financial environment, several countries have harmonized their accounting standards with the International Accounting Standards Board’s International Financial Reporting Standards, leading to increasing use of fair value accounting among firms. However, the practical implications of this transition, especially for the Thai insurance sector, remain under-explored. The aim of the present study was to bridge this gap by evaluating the effect of fair value versus historical cost accounting on the financial statement analysis. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) constant-returns-to-scale and Malmquist DEA models were used to examine Thai insurance companies from financial years 2015 to 2019. The objectives included assessing the change in value of financial items on restatement from historical cost to fair value, evaluating the ensuing changes on the efficiency of firms, and benchmarking the firms for comparative performance evaluation. The findings obtained suggest statistically significant differences in many financial items on restatement, along with noticeable changes in firms’ efficiency scores and overall rankings. The study underscores the theoretical debate between fair value and historical cost, and suggests that fair value can be used to complement historical cost.

Article Details

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Research Articles

References

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