Financial Reporting

  FASB revised FASB Statement no. 141 (revised 2007), Business Combinations, to address application issues raised by preparers, auditors, and people in the legal profession on initial recognition and measurement, subsequent measurement and accounting, and disclosure of assets and liabilities arising from contingencies in a business combination. The application concerns included disclosing potentially prejudicial information in financial statements and determining the acquisition-date fair value of a litigation-related contingency.

FASB on April 1 issued amendments and clarifications to the business combinations standard in the form of FASB Staff Position (FSP) 141(R)-1, Accounting for Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed in a Business Combination That Arise from Contingencies. The FSP, available at tinyurl.com/d6fdld, is effective for assets or liabilities arising from contingencies in business combinations for which the acquisition date is on or after the beginning of the first annual reporting period beginning on or after Dec. 15, 2008.