Action Alert No. 08-04
January 24, 2008

NOTICE OF MEETINGS

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

Wednesday, January 30, 2008, 8:15 a.m.

The Board meeting will begin at 8:15 a.m. instead of 9:00 a.m.

  1. Revenue recognition (estimated 2-hour discussion). The Board will discuss the proposed customer consideration model of revenue recognition, with a focus on the internal consistency, sufficiency, and completeness of the model, and the strengths and weaknesses of this model relative to existing U.S. GAAP and IFRS.

  2. Financial guarantee insurance (estimated 60-minute discussion). The Board plans to conclude redeliberations of the FASB Exposure Draft, Accounting for Financial Guarantee Insurance Contracts. The Board will discuss disclosures, effective date and transition, and any remaining issues.

  3. Agenda decision: relief from Statement 114 (estimated 45-minute discussion). The Board will discuss whether to add a project to its agenda to consider permitting lenders to measure impairments of residential mortgage loans that are troubled debt restructurings under FASB Statement No. 5, Accounting for Contingencies, rather than FASB Statement No. 114, Accounting by Creditors for Impairment of a Loan.

  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, January 30, 2008, following the Board meeting

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

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, Interpretation, FSP, or Statement 133 Implementation Issue.

January 16, 2008 Board Meeting

Statement 140 implementation—repurchase financing agreements. The Board discussed the significant issues raised by the external resource group on proposed FSP FAS 140-d, Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets and Repurchase Financing Transactions. The Board decided to:

  1. Reaffirm the scope of the proposed FSP for transactions entered into contemporaneously with, or in contemplation of, one another.

  2. Retain the rebuttable presumption approach when evaluating the linkage criteria.

  3. Delete the recourse provision that states that the initial transferee must maintain rights to the collateral to account for the initial transfer and repurchase financing separately.

  4. Reaffirm that early adoption is prohibited.

  5. Amend the transition guidance to require prospective application.

The Board authorized the staff to proceed to a draft of a final FSP for vote by written ballot.

FASB DOCUMENT AVAILABLE

Proposed FSP FAS 157-c, Measuring Liabilities under FASB Statement No. 157, was issued on January 18, 2008, and is available on the FASB website. Comments are requested by February 18, 2008.

FUTURE OPEN MEETINGS

The following is a list of open meetings tentatively scheduled through March. 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.

Wednesday, February 6, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, February 6, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, February 13, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, February 13, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, February 20, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, February 20, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, February 27, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, February 27, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, March 5, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, March 5, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, March 12, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, March 12, 2008—Emerging Issues Task Force Meeting
Tuesday, March 18, 2008—Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council Meeting
Wednesday, March 19, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, March 19, 2008—FASB Education Session
Wednesday, March 26, 2008—FASB Board Meeting
Wednesday, March 26, 2008—FASB Education Session