Action Alert No. 04-18
May 6, 2004

NOTICE OF MEETINGS

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

Wednesday, May 12, 2004, 9:00 a.m.

  1. Interpretation of Statement 87. The Board will consider expanding the scope of this project to include an amendment of FASB Statement No. 35, Accounting and Reporting by Defined Benefit Pension Plans, as well as to consider several implementation questions that have arisen during the drafting of the proposed Interpretation. (Estimated 45-minute discussion.)

  2. Financial instruments: derivatives implementation. The Board will continue its discussion of the staff’s recommendation regarding the proposed guidance on Statement 133 Implementation Issue No. G25, “Hedging the Variable Interest Payments on a Group of Prime-Rate-Based Interest-Bearing Loans.” (Estimated 45-minute discussion.)

  3. Agenda decision: request to amend Statement 133. The Board will continue its discussion of a potential project to amend FASB Statement No. 133, Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities, to permit (a) hedging entities to designate the risk of changes in only certain aspects of a nonfinancial asset’s fair value as the hedged risk in a fair value hedge, and (b) a similar bifurcation of risks for cash flow hedge accounting related to nonfinancial assets. (Estimated 15-minute discussion.)

  4. 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, May 12, 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 May 19 Board meeting. Those topics will be posted to the FASB calendar four days prior to the education session.

OPEN MEETING WITH REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE

Monday, May 10, 2004, 1:00 p.m.

The Board will meet with representatives of the Risk Control Committee of the American Petroleum Institute to discuss matters of mutual interest.

OPEN MEETING WITH THE FASB SMALL BUSINESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE
(This meeting is available by audio webcast and telephone.)

Tuesday, May 11, 2004, 9:30 a.m. to approximately 3:00 p.m.

The Board and the Small Business Advisory Committee will meet to discuss the following:

  1. The role of the Small Business Advisory Committee
  2. The standard-setting process and the Board’s technical agenda
  3. The March 2004 FASB Exposure Draft, Share-Based Payment
  4. The Board’s project on business combinations
  5. The current accounting environment.

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.

April 28, 2004 Board Meeting

FASB Staff Positions (FSPs). The Board directed the staff to issue the following final FSPs:

  1. FSP FAS 141-1 and FAS 142-1, "Interaction of FASB Statements No. 141, Business Combinations, and No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, and EITF Issue No. 04-2, ' Whether Mineral Rights Are Tangible or Intangible
    Assets' "
  2. FSP FIN 46(R)-4, "Technical Correction of FASB Interpretation No. 46 (revised December 2003), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities, Relating to Its Effects on Question No. 12 of EITF Issue No. 96-21, 'Implementation Issues in Accounting for Leasing Transactions involving Special-Purpose Entities.' "

Those final FSPs were posted to the FASB website on April 30, 2004.

NOTICE OF FASB PUBLIC ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSIONS ON THE FASB STAFF REQUEST FOR INFORMATION ABOUT ISOLATION OF TRANSFERRED ASSETS

In connection with the planned revisions to the June 10, 2003 FASB Exposure Draft, Qualifying Special-Purpose Entities and Isolation of Transferred Assets, which would amend FASB Statement No. 140, Accounting for Transfers and Servicing of Financial Assets and Extinguishments of Liabilities, the Board will hold a public roundtable discussion on May 25, 2004. The scope of the roundtable will focus on legal issues related to the isolation requirement of Statement 140, including the impact of setoff rights. The Board expects to invite 10–12 attorneys from the respondents to the April 9, 2004 FASB Staff Request for Information to participate in that roundtable discussion.

The Board will hold an additional public roundtable discussion related to isolation issues that apply specifically to regulated financial institutions on June 17, 2004. The Board expects to invite attorneys and regulators to the second roundtable.

FUTURE OPEN MEETINGS

The following is a list of open meetings tentatively scheduled through June. 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, May 18, 2004—Liaison Meeting with the Equipment Leasing Association
Tuesday, May 18, 2004—FASB Liabilities and Equity Resource Group Meeting
Wednesday, May 19, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, May 19, 2004—FASB Education Session
Tuesday, May 25, 2004—Qualifying Special-Purpose Entities Roundtable Discussion
Wednesday, May 26, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, May 26, 2004—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, June 2, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, June 2, 2004—FASB Education Session
Thursday, June 3, 2004—Liaison Meeting with the American Accounting Association
Wednesday, June 9, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, June 9, 2004—FASB Education Session
Thursday, June 10, 2004—Liaison Meeting with the Financial Executives International
Friday, June 11, 2004—Liaison Meeting with the Association for Investment Management and Research
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
Monday, June 28, 2004—FASB Board Meeting
Tuesday, June 29, 2004—Equity-Based Compensation Roundtable Discussion, Norwalk, CT
Wednesday, June 30, 2004—Emerging Issues Task Force Meeting