Action Alert No. 04-22
June 3, 2004

NOTICE OF MEETINGS

OPEN BOARD MEETING
(Board meetings are available by audio webcast and telephone.)

Wednesday, June 9, 2004, 9:00 a.m.

  1. Business combinations: purchase method procedures. The Board will discuss certain issues related to (a) the accounting for stock options in a business combination and (b) the application guidance for the definition of a business. (Estimated 90-minute discussion.)

  2. Revenue recognition. The Board will discuss certain issues relating to measuring performance obligations at fair value. The Board will consider (a) the reliability of accounting estimates used in current U.S. GAAP and (b) the role of transactions in accounting measurements. The Board also will discuss examples of direct and indirect measures of fair value that might be obtained or developed in practice. The Board expects to decide whether those measures are sufficiently reliable to merit inclusion in financial statements. Reliability of fair value estimates will be assessed in the context of the relative reliability of alternative measures of performance obligations. (Estimated 60-minute discussion.)

  3. Open discussion. If necessary, the Board will allow time to discuss minor issues with staff members on technical projects or administrative matters. Those discussions are held following regular Board meetings as topics come up.

OPEN EDUCATION SESSION

Wednesday, June 9, 2004, immediately following the Board meeting

The Board will hold an educational, non-decision-making session to discuss topics that are anticipated to be discussed at the June 16 Board meeting. Those topics will be posted to the FASB calendar four days prior to the education session.

OPEN MEETING WITH THE FINANCIAL EXECUTIVES INTERNATIONAL

Thursday, June 10, 2004, 8:30 a.m.
Stamford Marriott
Two Stamford Forum
Stamford, CT

The Board will meet with representatives of the Committee on Corporate Reporting of the Financial Executives International to discuss matters of mutual interest.

OPEN MEETING WITH THE CFA INSTITUTE

Friday, June 11, 2004, 1:00 p.m.

The Board will meet with representatives of the Financial Accounting Policy Committee of the CFA Institute (formerly the Association for Investment Management and Research) to discuss matters of mutual interest.

BOARD ACTIONS

The Board Actions are provided for the information and convenience of constituents who want to follow the Board’s deliberations. All of the conclusions reported are tentative and may be changed at future Board meetings. Decisions are included in an Exposure Draft for formal comment only after a formal written ballot. Decisions in an Exposure Draft may be (and often are) changed in redeliberations based on information provided to the Board in comment letters, at public roundtable discussions, and through other communication channels. Decisions become final only after a formal written ballot to issue a final Statement or Interpretation.

May 26, 2004 Board Meeting

Financial instruments: liabilities and equity. The Board decided that the proposed reassessed expected outcomes (REO) approach for classification, unit of account, measurement, and EPS should:

  1. Be considered as a possible method for bifurcating compound financial instruments

  2. Not be considered for classification and measurement of simple instruments

  3. Be considered as an approach for determining earnings per share (EPS) for all financial instruments.

The Board also decided to retain the ownership relationship approach for classification of simple instruments and, at future meetings, to revisit whether the liquidity test should apply for financial instruments that establish an ownership relationship.

FUTURE OPEN MEETINGS

The following is a list of open meetings tentatively scheduled through July. Because schedules may change, please check the FASB calendar before finalizing your plans. Revisions to this list since the last issue of Action Alert are highlighted in bold.

Tuesday, June 15, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, June 16, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Thursday, June 17, 2004—Qualifying Special-Purpose Entities Roundtable Discussion
Monday, June 21, 2004—FASB Education Session
Tuesday, June 22, 2004—Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council Meeting
Thursday, June 24, 2004—Equity-Based Compensation Roundtable Discussion, Palo Alto, CA
Tuesday, June 29, 2004—Equity-Based Compensation Roundtable Discussion, Norwalk, CT
Wednesday, June 30, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, June 30, 2004—Emerging Issues Task Force Meeting
Thursday, July 1, 2004—Emerging Issues Task Force Meeting
Wednesday, July 7, 2004—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, July 14, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, July 14, 2004—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, July 21, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, July 21, 2004—FASB Education Session
Monday, July 26, 2004—Liaison Meeting with the Edison Electric Institute
Tuesday, July 27, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Tuesday, July 27, 2004—FASB Education Session