NEWS RELEASE 09/17/12

Financial Accounting Standards Board Announces "Encore" CPE Webcast on Private Company Decision-Making Framework Project

Norwalk, CT, September 17, 2012—Stakeholders will have another opportunity on October 18th to earn CPE credit while learning about a recent Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) staff paper and its recommendations for creating a private company decision-making framework. On that date, from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. EDT, the FASB will host a live, encore performance of its recent webcast titled IN FOCUS: The FASB Private Company Decision-Making Framework Project. Those who pre-register and participate in the live broadcast will be eligible for up to 1.5 hours of CPE credit. (Please note that CPE credit is not available for group viewing of the live broadcast.)

"Our September 14th webcast on the private company decision-making framework project generated a lot of interest, questions, and insights among viewers," stated FASB Technical Director Susan M. Cosper. "By hosting a second live webcast on October 18th, we hope to give even more stakeholders the opportunity to learn about what´s in the paper, and why their feedback is critical to the success of improving financial reporting for private companies."

In addition to Ms. Cosper, the webcast will feature FASB Assistant Director―Nonpublic Entities Jeff Mechanick and FASB Project Manager Michael Cheng providing an overview of the FASB´s recent Invitation to Comment on a staff paper that outlines an approach for deciding whether and when to modify U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) for private companies. The document―Private Company Decision-Making Framework: A Framework for Evaluating Financial Accounting and Reporting Guidance for Private Companies―contains initial FASB staff recommendations for criteria to determine whether and in what circumstances it would be appropriate to adjust financial reporting requirements for private companies following U.S. GAAP.

The October 18th webcast covers the same topics as the September 14th event, including:

Six significant factors identified by the staff that differentiate the financial reporting considerations of private companies
Five areas where financial accounting and reporting guidance might differ for private and public companies
Next steps, including plans for the FASB and the newly formed Private Company Council (PCC) to jointly deliberate the feedback received before finalizing the framework

At the end of the program, participants will understand the paper´s initial recommendations that reflect what stakeholders told the FASB staff about their experiences using, preparing, auditing, reviewing, and compiling private company financial statements. They will also obtain a general understanding of what feedback is needed from stakeholders, and how the FASB and the PCC will deliberate the input received prior to finalizing the framework.

An archive of the webcast will be available on the FASB website through Wednesday, January 16, 2013. (CPE credit will not be available to those who view only the archived webcast.) More information about the webcast is available at www.fasb.org.