A set of standard compounds for x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS): KBH 4 , NaBPh 4 , and KBF 4 has been identified. Literature data on XPS for salts of the anions BH 4 − , BF 4 − , and BPh 4 − , the donor-acceptor complexes LBF 3 , and also their related compounds was analyzed with a view toward the validity of the data.