A distinction in accounting which is often difficult for students to grasp concerns the difference in purpose between adjustments for general and specific price-level changes. This article describes how indifference curve analysis can be used to explain to students why adjustment to market value reflects unrealized gains and losses resulting from changes in the price of business assets relative to other goods, whereas general price-level adjustments eliminate gains and losses caused by the changing value of all goods vis a vis money, as well as to reflect gains and losses on monetary items.

Presents a commentary to the article by Yuji Ijiri and Hiroyuki Itami which used a quadratic cost curve in developing the concept of an information delay loss which they measure as the difference between production costs when information is received early and those incurred when information is received late. Assumption required to point out information delay loss as calculated in the study; How the models of the study were developed; Implications for the information delay loss.