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Accounting Research Manager®
Weekly Summary of Developments
October 17-21, 2011
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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.

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ACCOUNTING AND SEC HEADLINES:
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Codification -- FASB Seeks Comments on Proposed Technical Corrections to Codification
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The FASB has issued a proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that would make certain technical corrections to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification^TM (Codification). Periodically, the FASB updates the Codification for technical corrections and clarifications that are deemed necessary. The amendments included in this proposed ASU cover a wide range of Codification Topics and are generally nonsubstantive in nature. Many of the proposed amendments update terminology to conform with Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement. The FASB does not anticipate that the amendments in the proposed ASU would result in pervasive changes to current practice.

The effective date of these amendments will be determined after the FASB considers the feedback on the amendments in proposal.

Comments on the proposed technical corrections are due December 13, 2011.

Fair Value Measurement -- FASB and IASB Discuss Fair Value Measurement and Other Matters
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As reported in its "Summary of Board Decisions" publication, the FASB and IASB (the Boards) met on October 19-20, 2011, and discussed the following topics:

-Fair value measurement;
-Revenue recognition;
-Leases;
-Accounting for financial instruments-impairment;
-Insurance contracts; and
-Accounting for financial instruments-disclosures.

Regarding their project on fair value measurement, the Boards discussed the IASB’s consideration, based on feedback from constituents, of the formation of a fair value advisory committee to create educational material about the implementation and application of IFRS 13, Fair Value Measurement, specifically for developing economies.

Regarding their project on revenue recognition, the Boards discussed whether an entity should apply the proposed disclosure requirements in the forthcoming revised revenue recognition exposure draft to interim financial statements. The Boards tentatively decided to amend FASB Codification Topic 270, Interim Reporting, and IAS 34, Interim Financial Reporting, to specify that an entity that prepares interim financial statements should disclose in its interim financial statements the following information (if material):

-A disaggregation of revenue;
-A tabular reconciliation of the movements in the aggregate balance of contract assets and contract liabilities for the current reporting period;
-A maturity analysis of remaining performance obligations;
-Information on onerous performance obligations and a tabular reconciliation of the movements in the corresponding onerous liability for the current reporting period; and
-A tabular reconciliation of the movements of the assets recognized from the costs to obtain or fulfill a contract with a customer.

Shareholder Proposals -- SEC Staff Issues Guidance on Shareholder Proposals
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The staff in the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance (Corp Fin) issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14F, Shareholder Proposals. This guidance provides information for companies and shareholders regarding Rule 14a-8 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Rule 14a-8 permits eligible shareholders to require companies to include shareholder proposals regarding proxy access procedures in company proxy materials. This legal bulletin contains information regarding:

-Brokers and banks that constitute “record” holders under Rule 14a-8(b)(2)(i) for purposes of verifying whether a beneficial owner is eligible to submit a proposal under Rule 14a-8;
-Common errors shareholders can avoid when submitting proof of ownership to companies;
-Submission of revised proposals;
-Procedures for withdrawing no-action requests regarding proposals submitted by multiple proponents; and
-Corp Fin’s new process for transmitting Rule 14a-8 no-action responses by email.

Legal and Tax Opinions -- SEC Staff Issues Guidance on Legal and Tax Opinions in Registered Offerings
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Corp Fin has issued Staff Legal Bulletin No. 19, Legality and Tax Opinions in Registered Offerings. This guidance provides the views of Corp Fin regarding legality and tax opinions filed in connection with registered offerings of securities. This legal bulletin discusses:

-The requirements for these opinions;
-Corp Fin’s views regarding the required elements for these opinions and staff practices in reviewing them; and
-The filing of consents to include these opinions in registration statements.

Cybersecurity Risks -- SEC Staff Issues Guidance on Cybersecurity Risks and Cyber Incidents
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Corp Fin has issued CF Disclosure Guidance: Topic No. 2, Cybersecurity. This guidance provides the views of the Corp Fin staff regarding disclosure obligations relating to cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents. Specifically, this guidance provides an overview of certain disclosure obligations that may require a discussion of cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents in the following disclosure sections within certain filings with the SEC:

-Risk factors;
-Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations;
-Description of business;
-Legal proceedings;
-Financial statement disclosures; and
-Disclosure controls and procedures.

Inflation Rates -- Interpretation Issued, Inflation Rates for Judging Whether an Economy Is Highly Inflationary - September 2011
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Our Interpretation, Inflation Rates for Judging Whether an Economy Is Highly Inflationary - September 2011, has been issued and reflects the latest available inflation rate information. We did not make any changes since our June 2011 update.

Users of this Interpretation should also refer to all of the actions of the International Practices Task Force of the Center for Audit Quality for further guidance in classifying countries as hyperinflationary, particularly for countries not reporting data to the International Monetary Fund and published in the International Financial Statistics, the source for this Interpretation.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Not-for-Profit Entities -- AICPA Issues Fair Value Measurement White Paper
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The AICPA has issued a financial reporting white paper, “Measurement of Fair Value for Certain Transactions of Not-for-Profit Entities,” which discusses specific challenges not-for-profit (NFP) entities face in applying the provisions of FASB Codification Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement. Fair value measurement issues unique to NFP entities include the following: (a) unconditional promises to give cash or other financial assets; (b) beneficial interests in trusts; and (c) split interest agreements.

The white paper provides the nonauthoritative views of the AICPA Financial Reporting Executive Committee on the application of Topic 820.

Surface Mining -- IASB Clarifies Accounting for Costs Associated with Waste Removal
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The IASB has issued IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) Interpretation 20, Stripping Costs in the Production Phase of a Surface Mine, clarifying the requirements for accounting for stripping costs in the production phase of a surface mine. IFRIC, the interpretive body of the IASB, was asked to clarify when and how to account for stripping costs (the process of removing waste from a surface mine in order to gain access to mineral ore deposits) to address diversity in practice. IFRIC 20 clarifies when production stripping should lead to the recognition of an asset and how that asset should be measured, both initially and in subsequent periods.

IFRIC 20 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after January 1, 2013, with earlier application permitted.

Government Loans -- IASB Proposes Amendments to IFRS 1
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The IASB has issued for public comment an exposure draft, Government Loans: Proposed Amendments to IFRS 1. This proposal would amend IFRS 1, First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards, to require that first-time adopters apply certain requirements in IAS 20, Accounting for Government Grants and Disclosure of Government Assistance, prospectively. Specifically, this proposal would add an exception to the retrospective application of IFRSs and in doing so would provide the same relief to first-time adopters as was granted to existing preparers of IFRS financial statements when the requirement was incorporated into IAS 20 in 2008.

Comments on this proposal are due January 5, 2012.

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AUDITING AND INTERNAL CONTROLS HEADLINES:
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Not-for-Profit Entities -- AICPA Issues Fair Value Measurement White Paper
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us

As discussed above in our Accounting and SEC Summaries, the AICPA has issued a financial reporting white paper, “Measurement of Fair Value for Certain Transactions of Not-for-Profit Entities,” which discusses specific challenges not-for-profit (NFP) entities face in applying the provisions of FASB Codification Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement. Fair value measurement issues unique to NFP entities include the following: (a) unconditional promises to give cash or other financial assets; (b) beneficial interests in trusts; and (c) split interest agreements.

The white paper provides the nonauthoritative views of the AICPA Financial Reporting Executive Committee on the application of Topic 820

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GOVERNMENT HEADLINES:
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GASB Report Issued -- GASB Technical Agenda and Other Matters Discussed
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The September 2011 edition of the "GASB Report" has been issued and includes the following discussion items:

-GASB calendar;
-Fair value measurements and technical corrections projects added to GASB's technical agenda;
-Summary of recent GASB meeting;
-Technical plan for the remainder of 2011; and
-2011-2012 GASB Comprehensive Implementation Guide.

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@hkcmcpa.us