April 2010

Blue-Ribbon Panel on Private Company Financial Reporting to Meet Monday

From Journal of Accountancy.

A blue-ribbon panel established to provide recommendations on the future of accounting standards for private companies will meet for the first time Monday at the AICPA’s New York office.

The public portion of the meeting will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and will be accessible via live audio stream found here.

In the first half of the public portion of Monday’s meeting Judith O’Dell, chairman of FASB’s Private Company Financial Reporting Committee (PCFRC), will provide an overview of the history on the debate of private company standards within the U.S. financial reporting system and provide a briefing on world actions on private company financial reporting. FASB Technical Director Russell G. Golden will provide a briefing on the current U.S. standard-setting process, and there will be an expert discussion by James Castellano, former chairman of the AICPA’s Private Company Financial Reporting Task Force and 2002 AICPA Board of Directors chairman.

In the second half of the public portion of the meeting, panel members will discuss their views on the following issues:

• Who are the actual users of private company financial statements?
• What is the key, decision-useful information that the various users need from U.S. GAAP financial statements? Is there information you don’t need or can’t get?
• Are current U.S. GAAP financial statements meeting those needs? Why or why not?
• Do you routinely “adjust” the U.S. GAAP financial statements to meet your needs?
• Are you concerned with the cost/benefit issues preparers experience in preparing U.S. GAAP financial statements?

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