Accounting

FASB requested comments on selected issues relating to assets and liabilities with uncertainties ( www.fasb.org/draft/itc_assets_liabilities_with_uncertainties.pdf ). The invitation is part of a joint project through which FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board are working to converge and improve their respective guidance frameworks, which FASB’s staff believes do not adequately address either probability or uncertainty related to assets and liabilities. Comments are due January 3, 2006.

FASB also issued Staff Position FAS 13-1, Accounting for Rental Costs Incurred during a Construction Period ( www.fasb.org/fasb_staff_positions/fsp_fas13-1.pdf ), effective for the first reporting period beginning after December 15, 2005. Entities are permitted to apply the FSP early to financial statements not yet issued and retrospectively in accordance with FASB Statement no. 154, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections ( www.fasb.org/pdf/fas154.pdf ).

The AICPA Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC) issued Statement of Position (SOP) 05-1, Accounting by Insurance Enterprises for Deferred Acquisition Costs in Connection with Modifications or Exchanges of Insurance Contracts, effective for replacements occurring in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2006. Initial application should be as of the beginning of an entity’s fiscal year. Retrospective application is prohibited, but early adoption is encouraged. Entities that adopt the SOP prior to the effective date should restate all interim reports for the year of adoption.

As part of its effort to increase the participation of financial information users in the standard-setting process, FASB is consulting the professional investment community on accounting issues. Its newly established Investor Task Force includes analysts from the nation’s largest institutional investment firms, who will advise FASB on standard-setting initiatives related to their areas of expertise.