Fair value's future remains uncertain

Senator Obama’s opponent in the race for the White House, John McCain, has said twice that he favours suspending fair value accounting requirements in a bid to ameliorate the credit crisis.

A review of Obama’s public speeches suggests that he has not discussed the issue.

Obama’s campaign has also declined to respond to requests for comment from Accountancy Age.

In public remarks responding to the financial meltdown, Obama has railed against deregulation under presidents Clinton and Bush, but has not talked specifically on what regulation he will prescribe.

He has promised to investigate credit rating agencies, beef up transparency requirements for financial institutions and strengthen capital requirements for complex financial instruments, however.