ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some insights on the possible impact of family firm status on the use of fair value accounting and on its measurement reliability. It argues that fair value accounting use and reliability in the context of family firms is an internationally relevant topic for several reasons. Family firms are the dominant form of organization across the globe, in emerging as well as in established economies. The chapter describes some key characteristics of family firms. It focuses on the principal features relative to fair value accounting and family firms, and provides three preliminary insights. In general terms, family firms are identified by using different and sometimes complementary approaches to arrive at a more general definition and establish a link between family involvement and the distinctive behaviors of family firms. Scholars introduced the components of involvement approach and the essence approach, later integrated with the family identity approach.
