Action Alert No. 08-30
July 24, 2008
NOTICE OF MEETINGS
OPEN BOARD MEETING
(Board meetings are available by audio webcast and telephone.)
Wednesday, July 30, 2008, 9:00 a.m.
- Reconsideration of Interpretation 46(R) and Statement 140 implementation: transfers of financial assets. (estimated 1-hour discussion). The Board will reconsider the effective date and transition provisions for the Exposure Drafts to be issued that will amend FASB Statement No. 140, Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities, and FASB Interpretation No. 46 (revised December 2003), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities. Additionally, the Board will consider transitional disclosures and the timing of both projects.
- Open discussion. If necessary, the Board will allow time to discuss minor issues with staff members on technical projects or administrative matters. Those discussions are held following regular Board meetings as topics come up.
OPEN EDUCATION SESSION
Wednesday, July 30, 2008, 10:30 a.m.
The Board will hold an educational, non-decision-making session to discuss topics that are anticipated to be discussed at a future Board meeting. Those topics will be posted to the FASB calendar four days prior to the education session.
BOARD ACTIONS
The Board Actions are provided for the information and convenience of constituents who want to follow the Board’s deliberations. All of the conclusions reported are tentative and may be changed at future Board meetings. Decisions are included in an Exposure Draft for formal comment only after a formal written ballot. Decisions in an Exposure Draft may be (and often are) changed in redeliberations based on information provided to the Board in comment letters, at public roundtable discussions, and through other communication channels. Decisions become final only after a formal written ballot to issue a final Statement, Interpretation, FSP, or Statement 133 Implementation Issue.
July 16, 2008 Board Meeting
Revenue recognition. The Board discussed the plan for completing the revenue recognition project. The Board agreed that a Preliminary Views should be issued later this year with at least a four-month comment period. The Board also agreed that the revenue recognition project is a high priority and that the goal is to issue a general revenue recognition standard by June 2011.
The Board also discussed the potential scope of a general revenue recognition standard. However, no decision was made and the issue will be discussed at a future Board meeting.
The Board agreed that at contract inception, a bundle of identified performance obligations would be measured at the contract price, thus precluding revenue (or gain) recognition at contract inception. An entity would allocate the contract price to individual performance obligations based on its actual (or estimated) selling prices for the promised goods and services.
Finally, the Board affirmed its May 2008 decision that performance obligations should be remeasured only if they are deemed onerous. The Board rejected the possibility of remeasuring performance obligations because they have regularly observable exit prices or because they span multiple accounting periods and are highly uncertain.
Statement 140 implementation: transfers of financial assets. The Board discussed the fair value practicability exception as part of its short-term project to amend FASB Statement No. 140, Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities, and decided to remove that exception in its entirety.
Disclosures about plan assets. The Board began redeliberations of proposed FSP FAS 132(R)-a, Employers' Disclosures about Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets. The Board discussed a number of issues raised in comment letters on the proposed FSP relating to the disclosures about categories of plan assets and concentrations of risk. The Board decided the following:
- Materiality guidance should not be provided for disclosing significant plan asset categories.
- Postretirement benefit plan assets will continue to be excluded from the scope of paragraph 15A of FASB Statement No. 107, Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments, which requires disclosures about concentrations of credit risk of financial instruments.
FUTURE OPEN MEETINGS
The following is a list of open meetings tentatively scheduled through September. Because schedules may change, please check the FASB calendar before finalizing your plans. Revisions to this list since the last issue of Action Alert are highlighted in bold.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, August 6, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, August 13, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, August 13, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, August 27, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, August 27, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, September 3, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, September 3, 2008—FASB Education Session
Monday, September 8, 2008—Liabilities and Equity Roundtable Meeting
Wednesday, September 10, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, September 10, 2008—Emerging Issues Task Force Meeting
Monday, September 15, 2008—Liaison Meeting with the AICPA Private Companies Practice Section, Technical Issues Committee
Wednesday, September 17, 2008—FASB Education Session
Thursday, September 18, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Monday, September 22, 2008—Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council Meeting
Tuesday, September 23, 2008—Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council Meeting
Wednesday, September 24, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, September 24, 2008—FASB Education Session