The value, at any given time, of a multi-year instrument that accrues interest but does not pay that interest until maturity. The most well-known applications include zero-coupon bonds or cumulative preferred stock. 
       
|||Accreted value may not have any relationship to market value. For example, a 10-year, 10% zero-coupon bond with a final maturity of $100 will have an accreted value of perhaps $43.60 in year two. If current market interest rates fall, the fair market value of that bond will be higher than its accreted value; if rates rise, the value of the bond will be less than its accreted value.