Washington, D.C., April 14, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of the Chief Accountant and Division of Corporation Finance today announced the release of Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 111.
This SAB amends Topic 5.M. in the Staff Accounting Bulletin Series entitled Other Than Temporary Impairment of Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities (Topic 5.M.). On April 9, 2009, the FASB issued FASB Staff Position No. 115-2 and 124-2, Recognition and Presentation of Other-Than-Temporary Impairments (FSP 115-2) to provide guidance for assessing whether an impairment of a debt security is other than temporary, as well as how such impairments are presented and disclosed in the financial statements. This SAB maintains the staff’s previous views related to equity securities. It also amends Topic 5.M. to exclude debt securities from its scope.
The statements in SABs are not rules or interpretations of the Commission, nor are they published as bearing the Commission’s official approval. They represent interpretations and practices followed by the Division of Corporation Finance and the Office of the Chief Accountant in administering the disclosure requirements of the federal securities laws.