Awarded project for MOE AcRF Tier 2 Grant

All smiles from the research project team, led by Professor Jeffrey Ng (second from the right): (L-R) Professors Gary Pan, Lim Chu Yeong and Kevin Ow Yong

Congratulations to Professors Jeffrey Ng, Gary Pan, Lim Chu Yeong, and Kevin Ow Yong from the School of Accountancy for being awarded the Ministry of Education Academic Research Fund Tier 2 (MOE AcRF Tier 2) grant during the August 2014 grant call.

Their research project, titled “The production, delivery and processing of fair values”, examines the issues related to the reporting of fair value estimates. The movement towards greater fair value accounting in the recent decade has raised significant interest about the future of accounting among academics and practitioners. In particular, there has been significant debate about the opportunities and threats posed by fair value accounting. For example, there are many who believe that fair value accounting contributed to the recent financial crisis in the United States. More recently, a Singapore-listed company, Noble Group, has been under scrutiny over the valuation of its investments in other companies, among other accounting issues.

In their research, they hope to obtain valuable insights from practitioners and academics about important issues related to fair value estimation. A key feature of the research project is the involvement of investigators from both research and practice tracks, who will use a variety of research methods to address important questions which have not been comprehensively addressed in this field due to the lack of publicly available information. One approach, for example, would be to rely upon hand-collected data of fair value information of companies outside the United States as well as the use of survey methods and interview questionnaires for accounting and managerial executives.

The team believes that their research will contribute to Singapore’s development as a business centre. In particular, given the shift towards fair value accounting, they note that it is important for practitioners to develop a better awareness and understanding of the issues related to fair valuation. For example, Singapore’s accountants were recently urged by Minister of State for Trade and Industry Teo Ser Luck, in his keynote speech at the Singapore Accountancy Convention 2014, to offer more high-value corporate advisory services such as business valuation and risk management.

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