SEC Makes it Official: FASB 123 Implementation Date Moved Back Again

April 14, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday confirmed a delay of compliance dates for Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement (FASB) of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 - the controversial stock option expensing rule.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday, the federal regulator has decided to allow companies more time to comply with the rule, according to a  Web site statement from the SEC (See Report: SEC to Delay Options Expensing Rule Start Date ). Under the old rule, registrants would have been required to implement the standards at the beginning of the first fiscal quarter after June 15 – or after December 15 for smaller businesses. With the revision, however, companies have until the beginning of their next fiscal year after these dates to implement the requirement.

The financial statements of a company – besides small businesses – with a June 30 year-end date must comply when their interim financial statements for the quarter beginning July 1 are filed, however.

The move was met with approval by at least on industry group: The International Employee Stock Options Coalition (IESOC). In a statement released Thursday, the IESOC called the move “a   welcome and positive development and reflects the concern that all   stakeholders in the financial reporting process have raised with theimplementation date adopted by the FASB.”

This is not the first time the date has been changed for the implementation of the controversial new accounting rules:   FASB has already delayed the effective date by six months (See  Pressure on FASB Produces Options Expensing Delay ).

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