The authors contend that the use of current valuations can present an inaccurate view of a firm’s true financial status. When assets are illiquid, current value represents only a guess. When assets participate in an economic ‘bubble’, current value is invariably unsustainable. Accounting standards, the authors conclude, should be flexible enough to fairly assess value in these circumstances. Discuss the alternatives that standard setters could permit in order to fairly assess values in an illiquid market.