IFRS Ten Years on: Has the IASB Imposed Extensive Use of Fair Value? Has the EU Learnt to Love IFRS? And Does the Use of Fair Value make IFRS Illegal in the EU?

This paper is a commentary on issues related to the first decade's mandatory use of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) in the EU. Three specific but related questions are addressed, as in the paper's title. On the first (imposition and use of fair value (FV)), I conclude that the International Accounting Standards Board has not substantially extended the use of FV in its 15 years of work and that most companies hold few assets or liabilities on the FV basis. On the second question (adoption in the EU), I analyse a consultation exercise which strongly suggests that the EU's imposition of IFRSs will continue. On the third question (legality of IFRSs), I explain why recent UK legal opinions that question the legality of reporting under IFRSs are not persuasive.