Conceptual Framework and Measurement: A Survey on the International Debate

In response to the ‘2011 Agenda Consultation’, the IASB launched in July 2013 a call for a new Discussion Paper on the ‘Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting’. This article aims to offer a contribution to the debate on the effectiveness of the theme of ‘Measurement’, by investigating the use of the current evaluation models in the literature and practice of Financial Reporting. The article proposes at first a historical survey both of the international debate on Fair Value Accounting vs. Historical Cost Accounting and of the Italian theories on the valuation. Later the paper proposes some considerations about the key questions related to Measurement and the possible policy implications of the main research finding, by conceptualising a ‘mixed’ system combining fair value Accounting and historical cost Accounting to try giving a more rational base to the financial reports.