marked to make believe
adj.— «For example, a financial asset traded on multiple exchanges might be considered a Level 1 market. At the other end of the spectrum, “Level 3,” no ready market exists to value assets or liabilities. A reporting unit or a business could, for example, qualify as Level 3 in the fair value hierarchy. The introduction of this Level 3 category into the accounting lexicon has recently led some to cry foul, as it is extraordinarily difficult to ascribe fair value to something nobody has recently tried to sell or buy. It’s even more challenging when the owner of the asset or liability has an inherent conflict in determining the outcome of the valuation. This conflict has led some to joke that such measurements are not “marked to market,” but are instead “marked to make believe” or “marked to myth.” » —“Mark to Market, or to Myth? FAS 157 Worries” by Collen Cunningham Compliance Week Sept. 25, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
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