What is ‘Above Water’
1. Refers to the condition of a company’s asset when its actual value is higher than the book value used in its financials.
Explaining ‘Above Water’
1. Generally, the book value of an asset listed in a company’s balance sheet cannot be adjusted according to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). Should the asset appreciate, its market value would be “above water”. A company with above water assets tends to attract value investors. This is because of the hidden value that most investors won’t discover if they don’t look beyond the financials. For example, if a company purchased a piece of land for $100,000 and the company later discovered an oil reserve on the property, the market value of the land would increase and be above water, because the book value would remain at $100,000.
Further Reading
- New directions in water economics, finance and statistics – iwaponline.com [PDF]
- Economics of agricultural water conservation: empirical analysis and policy implications – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- The economic and financial gains from water markets in Chile – www.sciencedirect.com [PDF]
- Trends in park tourism: Economics, finance and management – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- Estimation of the public benefits of urban water supply improvements in Ethiopia: a choice experiment – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- The politics and economics of pork barrel spending: The case of federal financing of water resources development – link.springer.com [PDF]
- Energy options: real economics and the solar-hydrogen system – www.osti.gov [PDF]
- Reforming the local public sector: Economics and politics in privatization of water and solid waste – www.tandfonline.com [PDF]
- The politics and economics of water pricing in developing countries – www.jstor.org [PDF]
