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Accounting Research Manager(TM)
Weekly Summary of Developments
March 1-5, 2010
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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:

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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

EITF Materials -- FASB Issues Additional Materials for March 18, 2010 EITF Meeting
Climate Change -- SEC Interpretive Guidance Discussed
Checklist -- Checklist of PCAOB Standards Published
Financial Reporting Manual -- SEC Staff Issues December 2009 Update
Regulation S-K -- SEC Staff Updates Regulation S-K Interpretations
Proxy Disclosures -- SEC Staff Publishes Guide on Proxy Disclosure Enhancements
Financial Instruments -- FASB Discusses Accounting for Financial Instruments and Other Matters
Consolidation -- IASB Discusses Consolidation and Other Matters

Auditing and Internal Controls Headlines

Checklist -- Checklist of PCAOB Standards Published

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ACCOUNTING AND SEC HEADLINES:
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EITF Materials -- FASB Issues Additional Materials for March 18, 2010 EITF Meeting
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

The FASB has issued the following additional materials for the March 18, 2010 EITF meeting:

-Updated proposed agenda;
-EITF Issue No. 09-D, "Application of Topic 946, Financial Services - Investment Companies, by Real Estate Investment Companies" (working group report) [issue removed from agenda, see below];
-EITF Issue No. 09-F, "Casino Base Jackpot Liabilities" (supplement);
-EITF Issue No. 09-G, "Clarification of the Definition of Deferred Acquisition Costs of Insurance Entities" (supplement);
-EITF Issue No. 09-H, "Selected Healthcare Organization Issues (Revenue Recognition; Presentation of Insurance Claims and Related Insurance Recoveries; and Measuring Charity Care for Disclosure)" (issue summary); and
-EITF Issue No. 09-I, "Effect of a Loan Modification When the Loan Is Part of a Pool That Is Accounted for as a Single Asset" (supplement).

The updated proposed agenda removes Issue 09-D from the meeting agenda as a result of recent FASB developments on its project on consolidations that would cause overlap with the EITF's discussion on this issue. The FASB has decided that investment companies will continue to be exempted from consolidating controlled subsidiaries but is reconsidering which entities would be subject to the exemption. The FASB Chairman has added a project to the FASB’s agenda on whether investment properties can or should be carried at fair value.

Climate Change -- SEC Interpretive Guidance Discussed
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We have published a discussion and analysis of the February 2, 2010, interpretive release issued by the SEC, Commission Guidance Regarding Disclosure Related to Climate Change. In this release, the SEC provides guidance on certain existing disclosure rules that may require a company to disclose the effect that business or legal developments related to climate change may have on its business. Our discussion is reflected in a new reporting format added to Accounting Research Manager, “A Closer Look.” In this edition of “A Closer Look,” we discuss the SEC release and include sample climate change disclosures from recent SEC filings.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Checklist -- Checklist of PCAOB Standards Published
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

We have published a new checklist, "Summary Checklist of Recent PCAOB Standards and Rules." This checklist is intended to serve as a reference used to review those engagement and other related authoritative standards recently issued by the PCAOB and approved by the SEC. Our checklist currently reflects pronouncements with effective dates beginning on or after September 30, 2008, and excludes PCAOB rules that are primarily administrative in nature, such as the timing of inspections and certain filing requirements.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Financial Reporting Manual -- SEC Staff Issues December 2009 Update
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

The staff in the Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) of the SEC has updated its Financial Reporting Manual, as of December 31, 2009. This manual represents informal guidance prepared for use by the Corp Fin staff. Corp Fin has made this manual public because readers may find the guidance useful in preparing filings with the SEC. Updates in this edition of the manual include the following areas (identified below in parentheses by section number in the manual):

-Collateralizations (section 2600);
-Age of Financial Statements in a Registration Statement [Item 8 of Form 20-F] (section 6220);
-Use of Non-GAAP Financial Measures-Applicable Guidance (section 8110);
-Definition of a Non-GAAP Financial Measure (section 8120);
-General Application of Regulations G and S-K 10(e) to Foreign Private Issuers (section 8140);
-Item 2.02 of Form 8-K (previously in section 8150 and deleted in this update); and
-Critical Accounting Estimates-Goodwill Impairment (section 9500).

Regulation S-K -- SEC Staff Updates Regulation S-K Interpretations
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

The staff in Corp Fin of the SEC has updated its Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation (C&DI), Regulation S-K. Specifically, this update makes the following changes:

-Withdraws questions 119.04-119.05, 119.11-119.12, 119.15, and 120.05 (guidance on Summary Compensation Table and Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table);
-Revises question 119.16 (guidance on Summary Compensation Table);
-Revises interpretation 220.01 (interpretation on Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table); and
-Adds a new question 119.24 (guidance on Summary Compensation Table).

This C&DI provides interpretations by Corp Fin of Regulation S-K. Topics updated or new in this C&DI cover the following topics:

-Providing required assumption information;
-In what year an equity award that permits the compensation committee discretion to reduce the award should be included in total compensation; and
-Exercising awards with “reload” options.

Proxy Disclosures -- SEC Staff Publishes Guide on Proxy Disclosure Enhancements
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

The staff of the SEC has published a Small Entity Compliance Guide, Proxy Disclosure Enhancements. This guide discusses the SEC’s final rule, Proxy Disclosure Enhancements, issued December 16, 2009. This final rule amends existing SEC rules and is intended to enhance information provided in connection with proxy solicitations and in other reports filed with the SEC. The amendments in this final rule also transfer the requirement to disclose shareholder voting results from Forms 10-Q and 10-K to Form 8-K.

This Guide discusses the following topics:

-Introduction of the proxy enhancement disclosure amendments;
-Expanded disclosure requirements about legal proceedings involving executive officers, directors, and nominees for director;
-Required disclosure of how diversity is considered in the director nomination process;
-New disclosure required about Board of Director leadership structure and role in risk oversight;
-Revisions to the Summary Compensation Table;
-Required disclosure for potential conflicts of interests of compensation consultants;
-New disclosure requirements for shareholder voting results; and
-Other resources available from the SEC.

Financial Instruments -- FASB Discusses Accounting for Financial Instruments and Other Matters
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

As reported in its "Summary of Board Decisions" publication, the FASB met on March 3, 2010, and discussed the following topics: (a) accounting for financial instruments; and (b) financial statement presentation. Regarding its project on financial instruments, the FASB decided that receivables and payables arising in the normal course of business that are due in customary terms not exceeding approximately one year, excluding credit card receivables, for which the entity’s business strategy is to hold the instrument for collection or payment of contractual cash flows, should be measured at carrying value. The FASB decided to provide a practical exception from the fair value measurement requirements for certain types of investments that can only be redeemed with the issuer at a maximum of the amount contributed.

Regarding its project on financial statement presentation, the FASB decided to include nonpublic business entities in the scope of its proposed guidance, however a nonpublic business entity would not be required to disclose in the notes an analysis of changes in significant asset and liability line items.

In addition, the FASB and IASB (the Boards) held a joint video conference meeting and discussed the following topics: (a) financial statement presentation; and (b) fair value measurement. The Boards addressed the transition and effective date provisions to be included in their financial statement presentation proposal to be issued and tentatively decided that the proposal should indicate their preference for requiring an entity to adopt the financial statement presentation provisions on a full retrospective basis. The Boards also noted that they plan to consider the effective dates and transition for standards to be completed by June 30, 2011 collectively, and that they may therefore modify their stated preferences for individual standards.

Consolidation -- IASB Discusses Consolidation and Other Matters
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

As reported in its "IASB Update" publication, the IASB on February 15-19, 2010, and discussed the following topics:

-Consolidation;
-Derecognition;
-Joint ventures;
-Post-employment benefits; and
-Rate-regulated activities.

In addition, the IASB and FASB met on February 16-19, 2010, and discussed the following topics:

-Consolidation;
-Fair value measurement;
-Financial instruments: classification and measurement;
-Financial instruments: hedge accounting;
-Financial instruments with characteristics of equity;
-Financial statement presentation;
-Insurance contracts;
-Leases;
-Revenue recognition; and
-Right of offset.

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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Checklist -- Checklist of PCAOB Standards Published
For detail, please contact info@zy-cpa.com

As discussed above in our Accounting and SEC Summaries, we have published a new checklist, "Summary Checklist of Recent PCAOB Standards and Rules." This checklist is intended to serve as a reference used to review those engagement and other related authoritative standards recently issued by the PCAOB and approved by the SEC. Our checklist currently reflects pronouncements with effective dates beginning on or after September 30, 2008, and excludes PCAOB rules that are primarily administrative in nature, such as the timing of inspections and certain filing requirements.

See our Literature Update 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