FASB: Action Alert No. 08-36

Action Alert No. 08-36
September 4, 2008

NOTICE OF MEETINGS

OPEN BOARD MEETING
(Board meetings are available by audio webcast and telephone.)

No Board meetings are planned for the week of September 8, 2008. The next scheduled Board meeting is Thursday, September 18, 2008, and will be announced in next week’s issue of Action Alert.

OPEN EDUCATION SESSION

Thursday, September 11, 2008, 9:00 a.m. (if necessary)

The education session will be held on Thursday instead of Wednesday.

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.

OPEN ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION WITH RESPONDENTS TO THE FASB PRELIMINARY VIEWS, FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS WITH CHARACTERISTICS OF EQUITY
(This meeting is available by audio webcast and telephone.)

Monday, September 8, 2008, 9:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. and 1:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.

The Board will hold a public roundtable discussion to listen to the views of and obtain information from respondents to the November 30, 2007 FASB Preliminary Views, Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity.

OPEN MEETING OF THE EMERGING ISSUES TASK FORCE
(This meeting is available by audio webcast and telephone.)

Wednesday, September 10, 2008, 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.

The Task Force plans to discuss all of the following issues in the order shown:

  1. Issue No. 08-1, "Revenue Recognition for a Single Unit of Accounting"

  2. Issue No. 08-6, "Equity Method Investment Accounting Considerations"

  3. Issue No. 08-7, "Accounting for Defensive Intangible Assets"

  4. Issue No. 08-8, "Accounting for an Instrument (or an Embedded Feature) with a Settlement Amount That Is Based on the Stock of an Entity’s Consolidated Subsidiary"

  5. Issue No. 08-5, "Fair Value of a Liability with a Third-Party Credit Enhancement."

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.

August 27, 2008 Board Meeting

Subsequent events and Going concern. The Board discussed its plans for incorporating guidance on subsequent events and going concern into U.S. GAAP. With respect to the going concern guidance, the Board decided that:

  1. The guidance should converge with IAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements, and IAS 10, Events after the Balance Sheet Date, supplemented by disclosure requirements in AICPA Statement on Auditing Standards No. 1, Codification of Auditing Standards and Procedures, AU Section 341, "The Auditor’s Consideration of an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern."

  2. The guidance should converge with IAS literature with respect to the time horizon for the going concern assessment.

The Board also affirmed the decisions it has reached to date on the subsequent events guidance. Specifically, the Board affirmed that:

  1. The guidance should reflect the principles underpinning the current subsequent events guidance in existing accounting standards and in the auditing requirements contained in AICPA Statement on Auditing Standards 1, AU Section 560, "Subsequent Events."

  2. Certain minor differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS should be eliminated or minimized. However, the guidance should not address inconsistencies or differences between U.S. GAAP and IFRS in the following areas:

    1. Refinancing of short-term obligations

    2. Curing breaches of borrowing covenants.

  3. Subsequent events should be considered for adjustment to or disclosure in the financial statements through the date that the financial statements are issued or first available to be issued, and the date through which subsequent events have been considered should be disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.

  4. The guidance will not amend existing standards that are considered to be inconsistent with the principles underpinning AU 560.

The Board decided that, to provide appropriate visibility to this new guidance for constituents, it will issue this guidance as new standards, preceded by an Exposure Draft and comment period. The Board agreed upon a 60-day comment period. The new standards will be effective for financial statements issued after the codification is ratified. The Board directed the staff to proceed to a draft of proposed Statements for vote by written ballot.

FUTURE OPEN MEETINGS

The following is a list of open meetings tentatively scheduled through October. 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.

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 [This meeting is no longer a public meeting]
Tuesday, September 23, 2008—Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council Meeting [This meeting is no longer a public meeting]
Wednesday, September 24, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, October 1, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, October 1, 2008—FASB Education Session
Thursday, October 2, 2008—Liaison Meeting with the Chartered Financial Analysts Institute (formerly AIMR)
Wednesday, October 8, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, October 8, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, October 15, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, October 15, 2008—FASB Education Session
Monday, October 20, 2008—FASB/IASB Joint Board Meeting, Norwalk, CT
Tuesday, October 21, 2008—FASB/IASB Joint Board Meeting, Norwalk, CT
Wednesday, October 22, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, October 29, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, October 29, 2008—FASB Education Session


Additional Details