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A FASB statement will provide guidance on asset
retirement obligations related to tangible long-lived assets, such as
factories or storage facilities, that require expensive cleanup when
decommissioned. The standard will focus on recognition and initial and
subsequent measurement of liability, allocation of asset retirement
cost and financial statement disclosures (
http://accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/fasb/project/aro.html ).
Businesses should test for impairment of the fair value
of goodwill at least annually, says FASB, unless events or
circumstances dictate more frequent appraisal. This tentative position
emerges as FASB draws nearer to issuing final rules on business
combinations (
http://accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/fasb/project/summ5101.html ;
http://accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/fasb/project/buscomsumm.html ;
http://accounting.rutgers.edu/raw/fasb/project/summ50901.html ).