Description: The association between disclosed financial accounting data and firm value is examined, while incorporating the effect of managerial discretion in reporting those data. Assumptions used to compute a firm's pension liability are addressed. These findings suggest that analysts recognize managers' use of unjustified assumptions and the disclosed accounting numbers are appropriately discounted.

Description: The purpose of this paper is to set forth the nature of the charges made on the corporate financial statements for the cost of pension plans, to give a resume of what is currently being done, and to suggest possible solutions. Additionally included is a discussion of the paper from a number of actuaries and the authors comments. Transactions of Society of Actuaries 1964, Vol. 16, Pt. 1, No. 46.

Description: 1973 SOA Annual Meeting. This paper provided summaries of several concurrent sessions from the referenced meeting including: 1. NEW DEVELOPMENTS IN GROUP LIFE AND HEALTH PROGRAMS. 2. MARKETING INDIVIDUAL ORDINARY INSURANCE. 3. ACTUARIAL LITERATURE. 4. INDIVIDUAL DISABILITY INCOME INSURANCE. 5. GROUP SURVIVOR INCOME BENEFITS. 6. GROUP LIFE AND HEALTH - EXTERNAL DEVELOPMENTS. 7. PENSION PLAN FINANCIAL REPORTING.

Description: This paper solves the pension benefit allocation problem using an extremely simple accounting approach. It presents a simple accounting argument, which says that the cost for like units of production should increase at the rate of inflation. If we assume that the appropriate units of production for an employee are inflation-adjusted salary, this rationale leads to projected unit credit with the benefit apportioned by interest-adjusted salary [PUCIAS] as the appropriate funding method for pensions. This same rationale can be extended to post-service medical care funding. For post-service medical care, however, the rationale does not lead to PUCIAS, since the rates of inflation for medical care and salary do not cancel. There is also a question whether inflation-adjusted salary should be used as the units of production for post-service medical care. When it is, it is still important avoid aggregating groups with different salary and promotion patterns. When it is not, the widget accounting arguments still hold as far unit costs increasing with the rate of medical care inflation.