SEC delays adoption of FAS 123 (R).(HEADLINE)(Securities and Exchange Commission)(Financial Accounting Standards Board)

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the adoption of a new rule that amends the compliance dates for Financial Accounting Standards Board's Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004), Share-Based Payment (Statement No. 123R).

Under Statement No. 123R, registrants would have been required to implement the standard as of the beginning of the first interim of annual period that begins after June 15, 2005, or after Dec. 15, 2005 for small business issuers. Calendar year-end companies that are not small business issuers, therefore, would have been permitted to follow the pre-existing accounting literature for the first and second quarters of 2005, but required to follow Statement No. 123R for their third quarter reports.

The Commission's new rule allows companies to implement Statement No. 123R at the beginning of their next fiscal year, instead of the next reporting period, that begins after June 15, 2005, of Dec. 15, 2005 for small business issuers. This means, for example, that the financial statements for a calendar year-end company do not need to comply with Statement No. 123R until the interim financial statements for the first quarter of 2006 are filed with the Commission. The financial statements for a company, other than a small business issuer, with a June 30 year-end, however, must comply with Statement No. 123R when the interim ...