In an article that appeared in Business Review Weekly on 4 March 2004 (entitled ‘Share options trap’), it is stated that under AASB 2 ‘companies must value and record as an expense any options granted to employees in exchange for their services. Previously, Australian companies recorded share-based payments in the notes to financial statements, arguing that share-based payments did not cost the company anything’. 

Do you think that there is any logic to the argument that ‘share-based payments did not cost the company anything’?