Assume that Big Company owns 40% of the stock of Little. Big is the largest shareholder of Little. Little is not a publicly traded company, and there is no easy way to know the fair value of its stock. Explain why using the equity method of accounting for this investment provides financial statement users with better information than the cost method would. I am looking for two or more ways in which the equity method gives information that better reflects either income or the value of the investment, or both, than the cost method.