Which accounting standard may result in the cost of some assets in use not being available on taxpayer books?

The correct answer is SFAS 141. This accounting standard deals with business combinations and requires that the assets and liabilities of an acquired entity be recognized at their fair values at the date of acquisition. As a result, certain assets may not be recorded on the taxpayer's books if they were not part of the acquisition but were nonetheless considered for valuation under fair market principles.

When assets are merged or acquired under SFAS 141, only the acquired entity's assets are recorded, which can lead to the situation where some assets that are currently in use by the acquiring entity but not formally documented on their balance sheet are essentially unrepresented in the taxpayer's accounting records. Therefore, assets previously used or owned may not be available or accessible in their books during an assessment for taxation or reporting purposes, leading to potential discrepancies in asset recognition.

The other accounting standards listed, while relevant to certain contexts, do not specifically address the issue of asset recognition in the same manner as SFAS 141. SFAS 144 pertains to the impairment of long-lived assets and is focused on asset write-downs rather than initial recognition. FASB 123 relates to stock-based compensation and its impact on financial reporting, while IFRS 15 is about revenue recognition and does not directly