First Meeting of the Blue-Ribbon Panel on Private Company Financial Reporting April 12, 2010

The first meeting of the Blue-Ribbon Panel on Private Company Financial Reporting will be held on Monday April 12, 2010 in New York City. A public portion of the meeting will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This portion of the meeting will be accessible via live audio stream. You may access the audio by going to the FASB website, fasb.org. and clicking on “Listen to Webcast of April 12, 2010 Meeting of “Blue Ribbon Panel” on Standard Setting for Private Companies” under “Recent Activity and News.”

In the first half of the public portion of the meeting, various people will provide an overview of the history on the debate of private company standards within the U.S. financial reporting system, provide a briefing on world actions on private company financial reporting, and provide a briefing on the current U.S. standard-setting process. There will also 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?

The next meeting is scheduled for May 15, 2010.

How do you feel about the work of the Blue-Ribbon Panel? Is there a need for a separate set of standards for private companies? Tell us how you think it will affect your practice by adding a comment.

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