Accounting

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FASB issues four staff positions (FSPs) addressing FASB Statement no. 150, Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Both Liabilities and Equity. One, FSP no. 150-3 ( www.fasb.org/fasb_staff_positions ), contains information for nonpublic entities with certain stock buyback agreements with their major stockholders. The staff position defers indefinitely the effective date of the mandatory redemption provisions of statement no. 150 and all related FSPs, including FSP no. 150-2, for nonpublic entities if the redemption date either is not fixed or if the payout amount is variable and not based on an index.

The Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC) releases the findings of its 2003 annual survey ( www.fasb.org/fasac/results2003.pdf ). Among the 27 council members, 7 FASB members and 9 others who participated in the survey, revenue recognition was the issue most often mentioned as warranting FASB’s immediate attention. Other topics of concern included pension accounting, fair value, international convergence and changes related to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.