PDFLegal Resources
Top Ten Reasons Corporate Counsel Should Be On Alert to the FASB’s Proposed Amendments to FAS 5, Accounting for Contingencies
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released a June 5, 2008 Exposure Draft of proposed amendments to their disclosure requirements in FASB Statements No. 5, Accounting for Contingencies, and 141(R). If adopted, these amendments would be effective for annual financial statements issued for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2008, and interim and annual periods thereafter. The greatly enhanced loss contingency reporting requirements, as proposed, call for companies to disclose substantially more information on their litigation loss contingencies, and will create serious issues for companies if passed.
Outlined below are the top ten reasons corporate counsel should be extremely concerned and advising the company’s CFO/CEO about the dangers these proposals present.