You may hear the term “Mark to Market” occasionally. So what the heck is that? This is a long article on the topic but the first two pargraphs summarize the various accounting methods that banks and securities firms use and the issues at stake.

For those of you with short memories, the Enron Scandal (capitalized, as it should be) provoked the controversy of evaluating assets along with a number of lawsuits that brought down Arthur Anderson, one of the big five accounting firms.