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Accounting Research Manager(TM)
Weekly Summary of Developments
October 6-10, 2008
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Accounting Research Manager subscriber,

The Accounting Research Manager database now contains this week's weekly summary of developments. Click the link below to access and print the fully-formatted Weekly Summary:

For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

If you do not have immediate Internet access to the Accounting Research Manager database, below is the text of this week's Weekly Summary.

Accounting and SEC Headlines

Fair Value Measurements -- FASB Issues Proposed Guidance for Determining Fair Value in Inactive Markets
Credit Market Crisis -- Analysis of the Economic Emergency Stabilization Act Added
Subsequent Events -- FASB Issues Proposed Statement
Going Concern -- FASB Issues Proposed Statement
Income Taxes -- FASB to Discuss Application of FIN 48 to Private Entities
International Financial Reporting -- IASB Issues Agenda for October 14-17, 2008 Meeting
IASB Update -- IASB Discusses Financial Instrument Disclosures

Auditing and Internal Controls Headlines

Auditing Profession -- Treasury Department's Advisory Committee Publishes Final Report and Recommendations
Going Concern -- Additional Interpretive Guidance Discussed
Credit Market Crisis -- Analysis of the Economic Emergency Stabilization Act Added

Government Headlines

State and Local Governments -- AICPA's Audit and Accounting Guide Discussed

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ACCOUNTING AND SEC HEADLINES:
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Fair Value Measurements -- FASB Issues Proposed Guidance for Determining Fair Value in Inactive Markets
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

The FASB has issued for public comment proposed FASB Staff Position (FSP) No. FAS 157-d, Determining the Fair Value of a Financial Asset in a Market That Is Not Active. The proposed FSP clarifies the application of FASB Statement No. 157, Fair Value Measurements, in an inactive market and provides an illustrative example to demonstrate how the fair value of a financial asset is determined when the market for that financial asset is inactive. As proposed, the FSP would be effective upon issuance, including periods for which financial statements have not been issued.

This FSP is consistent with the guidance issued jointly by the FASB and SEC on the application of Statement 157 discussed in our Hot Topic dated October 1, 2008. See our Hot Topic for complete details.

Comments on this proposal were due October 9, 2008. The FASB met on October 10, 2008, to review comments received and voted to finalize the FSP as soon as possible. The final FSP will include certain additional clarifying guidance from that proposed.

Credit Market Crisis -- Analysis of the Economic Emergency Stabilization Act Added
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

We have published a Hot Topic discussing our addition of a white paper, The Economic Bailout: An Analysis of the Economic Emergency Stabilization Act. This white paper discusses the events and circumstances that gave rise to the current credit and liquidity crisis and the government’s response to it as reflected in the legislation. In addition, the white paper discusses key provisions included in the final legislation and related program oversight and taxpayer protections.

See our Hot Topic for complete details.

Subsequent Events -- FASB Issues Proposed Statement
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The FASB has issued for public comment an exposure draft (ED) of a proposed FASB Statement, Subsequent Events. This ED would establish general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur subsequent to the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or available to be issued. This ED would require disclosure of the date through which management has evaluated subsequent events and the basis for that date, that is, whether that date represents the date the financial statements were issued or the date the financial statements were available to be issued. The FASB believes this requirement would alert all users of financial statements that management has not evaluated subsequent events after that date.

As proposed, the provisions of this ED would be effective for interim or annual financial periods ending after ratification of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification^™ and would be applied prospectively.

Comments on this proposal are due December 8, 2008.

Going Concern -- FASB Issues Proposed Statement
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The FASB has issued for public comment an ED of a proposed FASB Statement, Going Concern. This ED would require that management of a reporting entity consider all available information about the future, which is at least, but not limited to, 12 months from the end of the reporting period, when assessing whether a going concern assumption is appropriate. Under current accounting guidance, the time horizon for the going concern assessment was limited to one year beyond the date of the financial statements. The ED would also require disclosures when either the financial statements are not prepared on a going concern basis or there is substantial doubt as to an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern. The FASB believes this guidance belongs in the accounting literature because it is management’s responsibility to assess the ongoing viability of the reporting entity.

As proposed, the provisions of this ED would be effective for interim or annual financial periods ending after ratification of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification^™ and would be applied prospectively.

Comments on this proposal are due December 8, 2008.

Income Taxes -- FASB to Discuss Application of FIN 48 to Private Entities
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

As reported in its "Action Alert" publication, the FASB is expected to meet on October 15, 2008 to discuss the applicability of FASB Interpretation (FIN) No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes, to private entities. Specifically, the FASB is expected to discuss comments received about the operationality of deferring FIN 48 for certain nonpublic enterprises. Previously, the FASB decided to defer FIN 48 for nonpublic pass-through entities based on their federal income tax status. The FASB is expected to discuss comments received on that approach and on difficulties in its application. At its meeting held on October 1, 2008, the FASB discussed matters associated with the application of FIN 48 and decided the following:

-To retain the current scope of FIN 48;
-To develop application guidance for pass-through entities;
-A one-year deferral of FIN 48 for all private pass-through entities based on the entity’s federal income tax status; and
-To exempt private companies from the disclosure requirements of paragraphs 21(a) and 21(b) of FIN 48.

The FASB chairman announced that the rules of procedure governing the length of comment periods have been temporarily modified to allow a window of time within which the FASB can act, in the best interest of investors and the capital markets, to provide needed guidance. As discussed above, the FASB issued FSP 157-d on an expedited basis under this temporary modification.

International Financial Reporting -- IASB Issues Agenda for October 14-17, 2008 Meeting
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The IASB is scheduled to discuss the following agenda items at its October 14-17, 2008 meeting:

-Annual improvements: IAS 39, Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement, definition of a derivative;
-Consolidation;
-Derecognition;
-Proposed amendments to IFRS 2, Share-based Payment, and IFRIC 11, Group and Treasury Share Transactions;
-An update on the IASB's expert advisory panel on valuing financial instruments in inactive markets;
-Fair value measurement;
-Financial instruments with characteristics of equity;
-Application of the effective interest rate method under IAS 39;
-IFRS for private entities;
-Education sessions on both insurance contracts and U.S. consolidation amendments;
-Reclassification of financial instruments; and
-IASB's technical plan.

IASB Update -- IASB Discusses Financial Instrument Disclosures
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

As reported in its "IASB Update" publication, the IASB met on October 2, 2008, and discussed the following projects or topics:

-Amendments to IFRS 7, Financial Instruments - Disclosures;
-Consolidation; and
-Disclosures: off balance sheet entities.

Some of the documents listed above may not be accessible under your current subscription. For information about upgrading your subscription to include additional content, click here:
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

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AUDITING AND INTERNAL CONTROLS HEADLINES:
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Auditing Profession -- Treasury Department's Advisory Committee Publishes Final Report and Recommendations
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

We have added a Hot Topic discussing the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Advisory Committee on the Auditing Profession (the Committee) publication of its Final Report. The report contains more than 30 recommendations to improve the sustainability of the public company auditing profession. The Committee’s report is separated into three sections by principal areas of focus: (a) human capital; (b) firm structure and finances; and (c) audit firm concentration and competition.

See our Hot Topic for complete details.

Going Concern -- Additional Interpretive Guidance Discussed
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

We have added a GAAS Update Service that focuses on practical issues relating to Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 59, The Auditor’s Consideration of an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern, as amended, by using a question and answer (Q&A) format designed to provide practical discussion, advice, and specific implementation guidance. The Q&As address various issues including:

-Whether the auditor is required to design specific audit procedures solely to assess the ability of an entity to continue as a going concern;
-The effect on the auditor’s report if substantial doubt about an entity’s going concern existed in a prior period but that doubt has been removed in the current period under audit;
-Considerations that the auditor should take into account when evaluating going-concern matters of an entity that may be relying on significant financial support from third parties;
-Whether the audit requirements to consider an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern apply to an audit of financial statements based on the assumption of liquidation;
-Factors that the auditor should consider when reviewing prospective financial information that is significant to management’s plans regarding a going-concern matter; and
-Whether the auditor should be concerned with events occurring subsequent to the balance-sheet date for purposes of evaluating the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern.

Credit Market Crisis -- Analysis of the Economic Emergency Stabilization Act Added
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

As discussed above in our Accounting and SEC Summaries, we have published a Hot Topic discussing our addition of a white paper, The Economic Bailout: An Analysis of the Economic Emergency Stabilization Act. This white paper discusses the events and circumstances that gave rise to the current credit and liquidity crisis and the government’s response to it as reflected in the legislation. In addition, the white paper discusses key provisions included in the final legislation and related program oversight and taxpayer protections.

See our Hot Topic for complete details.

Some of the documents listed above may not be accessible under your current subscription. For information about upgrading your subscription to include additional content, click here:
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

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GOVERNMENT HEADLINES:
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State and Local Governments -- AICPA's Audit and Accounting Guide Discussed
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

We have added a Governmental GAAP Update Service that discusses the AICPA's Audit and Accounting Guide, State and Local Governments. This Update provides analysis of significant sections that have been revised and updated in order to give all audit and accounting professionals an overview of the updated guidance in the AICPA's Guide. The Guide became available in late June 2008, with conforming changes through March 1, 2008. The AICPA's Guide provides assistance to: (a) auditors and financial statement preparers who are new to state and local governmental accounting and auditing; and (b) experienced audit and accounting professionals in these fields.

The Guide is effective for audits of a state or local government’s financial statements for the first fiscal period ending after June 15, 2003, in which the government does apply, or is required to apply, the provisions of either: (a) GASB Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements - and Management’s Discussion and Analysis - for State and Local Governments; or (b) GASB Statement No. 35, Basic Financial Statements - and Management’s Discussion and Analysis - for Public Colleges and Universities. The Guide is effective for conforming changes related to audits of financial statements for which fieldwork is completed after its issuance, subject to the effective date of the underlying authoritative pronouncements.

Some of the documents listed above may not be accessible under your current subscription. For information about upgrading your subscription to include additional content, click here:
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com