Risk and financial reporting: A summary of the discussion at the 1997 AAA/FASB Conference

A summary of the Risk and Financial Reporting session at the 1997 American Accounting Association (AAA)/Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) conference is presented. In the session, participants discussed issues related to developing accounting standards for risk disclosures in financial statements. The summary describes the current disclosure requirements for risk and specific issues related to risk that complicate the process of improving these reporting requirements. Also provided are summaries of 2 presentations on related academic research. These summaries are prepared by the presenters at the conference, Professors Barth and Kinney. The participants' discussion of 2 cases related to risk disclosure are summarized. These cases were used to illustrate potential concerns associated with the development of an accounting standard for risk reporting.