Editorial Staff

Publisher/Editor-in-Chief
Colleen Katz

Managing Editor
Elizabeth Uva

Senior Editors
Katharine W. Coveleski
Laura Fischer
Peter D. Fleming
Michael Hayes
Robert Tie
Stanley Zarowin

Assistant Editors
Sarah Cobb,Vincent Nolan

Contributing Editors
Anita Dennis, Lesli S. Laffie
Joan Mancuso, Barbara J. Shildneck

Production Director
Peter M. Tuohy 

Art Director</span>
Jeryl A. Costello

Production Manager
Gene Cioffi

Senior Manager—
Production Services—
Publishing Technology
Robert DiCorcia

Production Editor
D. Hillel Lofaso

Senior Production Associates
Valrie Mason, Ingrid Medina

Art Assistant
Patricia L. Arrington

Associate Publisher
Thomas R. Greve

Advertising Team Manager
Karin DeMarco

Advertising Representatives
Gwenn M. Paness
Joseph Torres 

Advertising Coordinator
John Weinberg

Editorial Offices
201-938-3292
e-mail: joaed@aicpa.org

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201-938-3767

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Highlights

INSTITUTE TO FOCUS ON INDUSTRY-SPECIFIC ACCOUNTING GUIDANCE
FASB will lead an effort to promote the use of principles-based standards (www.fasb.org) in the United States by streamlining the accounting rule-making process. The AICPA had previously reviewed the FASB plan and discussed it at the fall council meeting. Under the new arrangement, AcSEC—the technical committee that represents the AICPA on financial reporting matters—no longer will issue general-purpose accounting statements of position. However, it will continue to develop industry-specific accounting and audit (A&A) guidance for financial statement preparers and CPAs in public practice. In addition it will evaluate electronic methods of updating its A&A guides more often.

Other ongoing AcSEC activities will include providing commentary on proposed FASB and IASB standards and assisting members in implementing them when issued. The committee will continue to encourage FASB to undertake the projects necessary to improve financial reporting.

FASAC ANNOUNCES ANNUAL SURVEY RESULTS
The Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC) released the findings of its most recent annual survey. Respondents expressed concern about a wide range of issues, including the growing number of financial statement revisions by companies that had recognized revenue inaccurately.

The council had asked its members and those of FASB, as well as other prominent individuals from the financial community, to identify topics most in need of the board’s attention in the coming year and to point out future financial reporting issues FASB should begin thinking about today. The survey also solicited participants’ thoughts on principles-based standard setting and the board’s international activities.

Besides recommending that revenue recognition be placed at the top of FASB’s 2003 agenda, participants said the board needs to quickly address other issues: accounting treatment of consolidations (which would broaden its focus on special-purpose entities), codification and simplification of standards (which would correspond with FASB’s project on principles-based standard setting (see News Digest), development of financial performance reporting measures (that would go beyond the widely used earnings-per-share criterion) and completion of the second phase of FASB’s business combinations project (including the development of procedures for applying the purchase method).

Among the topics likely to become top priorities in the future, valuation issues attracted the most concern. Those surveyed noted, in particular, the absence of objective criteria for measuring fair value. They said, for example, it wouldn’t be possible to accurately expense stock options without the board’s guidance. Several said FASB should devote substantial attention to strategic matters, such as ensuring it is well structured and its staff has the skills necessary to deal with the issues to be addressed. And many respondents believed FASB should consider what more it can do to restore investor confidence in the financial statements of publicly traded companies.

In general, survey participants said they were prepared to accept differences in how principles-based standards could be interpreted—despite the risk that their judgment would be questioned—and were ready to make the determinations necessary to apply such standards. In addition, the great majority felt FASB’s international activities were an appropriate use of its resources.

The survey and responses are available on the FASB Web site at www.fasb.org/fasac/resultspg2002.shtml.

Editorial Advisers

Kenneth D. Askelson, James Bean, Robert C. Beheler, Phyllis Bernstein, John C. Boma, Jacob R. Brandzel, Steven J. Brown, Jolene C. Brucks, Thomas F. Burrage, Linda Burt, J. Gregory Bushong, R. Patrick Cargill, Benson J. Chapman, Susan M. Comeau, Rosemarie T. Dunn, Thomas Emmerling, Elizabeth Fender, Penny A. Flugger, Barton C. Francis, Robert J. Freeman, John S. Gibbons, Alan Glazer, Randi K. Grant, Patrick T. Hanratty, James E. Hunton, Frank J. Kopczynski, Jeffrey B. Kraut, Dennis B. Kremer, William F. Laurie, Alan Levin, John Lewison, Joseph P. Liotta, Mano Mahadeva, Benjamin F. Mathews, Patrick Michael McDonough, Anita Meola, Debra Mitchell, Roger H. Molvar, Brenda Morris, Bea L. Nahon, Lyne P. Noella, Edward T. Odmark, Stanley Person, Mary P. Ricciardello, Mark L. Richardson, Wesley Riemer, Marshall B. Romney, David Satava, Peggy Scott, Carolyn Sechler, Gary Shamis, Ivan J. Sotomayor, Alan Steiger, Paul C. Sullivan, Keith Tobias, Gary R. Trugman, Robert Willens, Jon Arthur Wise, Mark A. Yahoudy