MEDIA ADVISORY 12/21/11

The FASB Announces Public Roundtable Meeting to Solicit Input on Proposal to Improve Accounting for Investment Companies and Proposal on Investment Property Entities

Norwalk, CT, December 21, 2011—The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) have announced they will host a series of public roundtable meetings—including one in the United States—to discuss their proposals to improve and converge financial reporting by setting forth consistent criteria for determining whether an entity is an investment company. The U.S. roundtable will also include a discussion about the FASB´s proposed Accounting Standards Update, Real Estate—Investment Property Entities (Topic 973), which develops accounting guidance for entities focused on investing in real estate properties. The roundtables are designed to provide interested stakeholders the opportunity to engage in dialogue with FASB and IASB members and staff about the proposals.

In October 2011, the FASB published proposed Accounting Standards Update, Financial Services—Investment Companies (Topic 946): Amendments to the Scope, Measurement, and Disclosure Requirements. This Exposure Draft proposes amendments to the current U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) criteria for determining whether an entity is an investment company. It also sets forth amendments to the measurement, presentation, and disclosure requirements for investment companies. In August 2011, the IASB published its Exposure Draft, Investment Entities, which proposes to introduce the concept of an investment entity. The FASB´s and IASB´s Exposure Drafts are broadly similar, although there are some differences.

The U.S. roundtable will take place on March 20, 2012; at the FASB offices located at 401 Merritt 7, Norwalk, CT 06856-5116. Roundtable participants are asked to register by February 28, 2012. (The U.S. roundtable will last 3.5 hours and will be held in the morning. The exact time is to be determined.)

The remaining international roundtables will be held as follows:

February 17, 2012
Toronto
The Canadian Accountants Board
The Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants
277 Wellington Street West
Toronto, ON M5V 3H2
Canada
Registration deadline: January 27, 2012

February 29, 2012
London
The International Accounting Standards Board
First Floor
30 Cannon Street
London EC4M 6XH
United Kingdom
Registration deadline: February 8, 2012

March 27, 2012
Kuala Lumpur
The Malaysian Accounting Standards Board
Suite 5.02, Level 5, Wisma UOA Pantai
11 Jalan Pantai Jaya
59200 Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Registration deadline: March 6, 2012

The roundtables in Toronto, London, and Kuala Lumpur will last two hours.
To ensure the Boards receive broad-based input, meeting participants will represent a wide variety of perspectives, including those of preparers, auditors, investors, and other users of financial statements. To register for the roundtables as a participant or observer, please email roundtables@ifrs.org with details of:

Your name
Your organization
The main type of interest you are representing (e.g., investor, auditor, preparer, etc.)
Your roundtable location preference (Toronto, London, Norwalk, or Kuala Lumpur)
State whether you wish to attend as a participant or an observer.

In order to attend as a participant, the FASB or IASB must receive a comment letter from your organization by the comment letter deadline (February 15, 2012, for the FASB and January 5, 2012, for the IASB). However, comment letters are not always required from investors.

Due to limited seating, only one participant per organization is permitted in the roundtables and no more than three observers from the same organization may attend.

An audio recording of the roundtable discussions will be made available shortly after each roundtable.

About the Financial Accounting Standards Board

Since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely on credible, transparent, and comparable financial information. For more information about the FASB, visit our website at www.fasb.org.