Economic Determinants for the Choice of Actuarial Cost Methods
研究了在FASB第87号公告发布前，企业是否基于经济激励理性选择精算成本方法，发现经济因素与选择显著相关，为准则制定提供了依据。
When the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement No. 87 in December 1985, it mandated a single actuarial cost method for all plans. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the accounting flexibility with respect to this choice in the pre-FASB 87 era was utilized by plan sponsors in any rational economic manner. This study shows that economic incentives are correlated with the actuarial cost method choices made by plan sponsors prior to Statement No. 87. Therefore, it would appear that the Board had some justification when they decided to mandate a standardized actuarial cost method for accounting purposes.