FASB and IASB Continue Discussions on Leases

As you know the FASB and IASB have been working on a project to get leases onto corporate balance sheets. The two boards have decided that there may be some reason to create two categories of leases. The original proposal would establish a single accounting method for all leases. The boards are now considering a proposal in which leases would look a lot like today's operating leases and capital leases. They have agreed to consider a structure where “finance leases” would be treated like an installment purchase, putting an asset on the balance sheet as well as a liability to be paid down over time. “Other-than-finance” leases would also appear on the balance sheet, but would flow through the income statement like today's operating leases because the financing element would not be considered significant.

The boards have asked their staff to establish indicators that would be used to identify the difference between the two types of leases and do some outreach to see if that would quell the criticism of the original proposal. They have softened their views on how companies should account for renewal options and other factors that lead to variable lease payments when it's not clear at the outset of the lease when or whether such circumstances would ever come into play.

In addition the boards

• Decided to raise the threshold for deciding when lease renewal options should be included in the liability.
• Tentatively concluded that lessees and lessors should follow the same basic guidelines for deciding if an obligation tied to some kind of variability would be included in the liability or the receivable.

More details on this discussion may be found in the February 16, 2011 Summary of Board Decisions on the FASB website, www.fasb.org.

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FAF/AICPA/NASBA Blue-Ribbon Panel on Standard Setting for Private Companies is Seeking Input from Accountants

The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF; the parent organization of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)), and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) have established a “blue ribbon" panel (the Panel) to address how accounting standards can best meet the needs of U.S. users of private company financial statements. The Panel will conclude its work and issue a report, with any recommendations on the future of standard setting for private companies, to the FAF Board of Trustees (the Trustees) in approximately one year. The Panel’s report will be made available to the public and the Trustees’ resulting action plan is expected to be exposed for public comment prior to that plan being finalized.

The Panel will comprehensively review the current system of standard setting for private companies in the U.S., including the following matters:

• Who are the actual users of private company financial statements and how do they use GAAP financial statements in their decision making?
• What is the key, decision-useful information that the various users need from GAAP financial statements?
• Are current GAAP financial statements meeting those needs? Why or why not?
• Are the benefits of GAAP financial statements outweighing the costs of preparing those statements for private companies?
• How does standard setting for private companies in the U.S. compare to standard setting in other countries, both those that have adopted IFRS for Small and Medium-Size Entities and those that have not?
• To the extent that current GAAP is not meeting user needs in a cost-beneficial manner, what are some possible alternatives for private company standards (e.g., separate, stand-alone standards; base-level standards for all entities with additional disclosure requirements for public companies) and what are the implications for standard-setter structure and/or processes?

The Panel is currently seeking input from accountants regarding these matters at: http://www.fasb.org/cs/ContentServer?site=FASB&c=Document_C&pagename=FASB%2FDocument_C%2FDocumentPage&cid=1176157332360 . The time to have our voices heard is now!

ASU No. 2010

The FASB issued ASU No. 2010–20, Receivables (Topic 310) Disclosures about the Credit Quality of Financing Receivables and the Allowance for Credit Losses in July 2010.

The objective of this ASU is to provide financial statement users with greater transparency about an entity’s allowance for credit losses and the credit quality of its financing receivables. It is intended to provide additional information to assist financial statement users in assessing an entity’s credit risk exposures and evaluating the adequacy of its allowance for credit losses. Currently, a high threshold for recognition of credit impairments impedes timely recognition of losses.

Amendments in this Update:

• Apply to all entities, both public and nonpublic. Affect all entities with financing receivables, excluding short-term trade accounts receivable or receivables measured at fair value or lower of cost or fair value.
• The extent of the effect depends on the relative significance of financing receivables to an entity’s operations and financial position.

Disclosures

This Update requires an entity to provide disclosures that facilitate financial statement users’ evaluation of the following:

• The nature of credit risk inherent in the entity’s portfolio of financing receivables
• How that risk is analyzed and assessed in arriving at the allowance for credit losses
  The changes and reasons for those changes in the allowance for credit losses.

To achieve the above objective, an entity should provide disclosures on a disaggregated basis. The amendments in this Update define two levels of disaggregation—portfolio segment and class of financing receivable.

Effective date

For public entities, the disclosures as of the end of a reporting period are effective for interim and annual reporting periods ending on or after December 15, 2010. The disclosures about activity that occurs during a reporting period are effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2010. Therefore, for calendar year issuers, the year end information will be presented for 2010, but activity for the year will not be presented until 1st quarter 2011.

For nonpublic entities the disclosures are effective for annual reporting periods ending on or after December 15, 2011.

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FASB Staff Draft on Financial Statement Presentation

The FASB and the IASB took an unusual step on July 1, 2010 by issuing a Staff Draft of an Exposure Draft on Financial Statement Presentation that prescribes the basis for presentation of general purpose financial statements to ensure consistency with an entity’s financial statements for previous periods and to promote comparability with the financial statements of other entities. It sets out overall requirements for the presentation of financial statements, requirements for the structure of financial statements, and principles for classification and disaggregation of information in the statements.

The draft reflects the cumulative, tentative decisions made by the Boards concluding with their joint meeting in April 2010. Work on the project is continuing, and the proposals are subject to change before the Boards decide to publish an Exposure Draft for public comment.

This Staff Draft reflects the Boards’ decision to engage in additional outreach activities before finalizing and publishing an Exposure Draft. Those activities will focus primarily on two areas: (1) the perceived benefits and costs of the proposals and (2) the implications of the proposals for financial reporting by financial services entities.

While the Boards are not formally inviting comments on this staff draft they welcome input from interested parties. They expect to publish an Exposure Draft for public comment in early 2011.

Scope
An entity shall apply this proposed guidance in preparing and presenting general purpose financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP. It applies equally to all entities except a not-for-profit entity and a benefit plan within the scope of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ Topics 960, Plan Accounting—Defined Benefit Pension Plans; 962, Plan Accounting—Defined Contribution Pension Plans; and 965, Plan Accounting—Health and Welfare Benefit Plans. In addition investment companies and other entities identified in Codification paragraph 230-10-15-4 are not required to present a statement of cash flows.

This proposed guidance does not change the accounting principles and reporting practices in Codification Topic 270, Interim Reporting.

The Staff Draft is available on the FASB website, www.fasb.org.

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ASU 2010-16 on Entertainment Casinos

ASU No. 2010-16, Entertainment–Casinos (Topic 924), Accruals for Casino Jackpot Liabilities, a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force was issued April 2010 and is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning on or after December 15, 2010. The amendments should be applied by recording a cumulative-effect adjustment which is the difference between the amounts recognized in the statements of financial position before initial application of the amendments in the Update and the amounts recognized in the statement of financial position at initial application of those amendments.

The objective of this ASU is to address diversity in practice in the accounting for casino base jackpot liabilities. It addresses diversity in practice regarding whether an entity accrues liabilities for a base jackpot before it is won, or the entity is not required to award the base jackpot. Some entities do not accrue liabilities for a base jackpot before it is won because they could avoid the payment while other entities accrue liabilities for a base jackpot ratably over the period of play expected to precede payout.

Entities that generate revenue from gaming activities that involve base jackpots are affected by this ASU.

This ASU clarifies that (1) an entity should not accrue jackpot liabilities (or portions thereof) before a jackpot is won, if the entity can avoid paying that jackpot (2) jackpots should be accrued and charged to revenue when an entity has the obligation to pay the jackpot and (3) it applies to both base and progressive jackpots.

ASUs are available on the FASB website, http://www.fasb.org/ under Standards.

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ASU 2010-15 on Financial Services

n April 2010 the FASB issued ASU No. 2010-15 Financial Services—Insurance (Topic 944) How Investments Held Through Separate Accounts Affect an Insurer’s Consolidation Analysis of those Investments (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). The amendments in this Update are effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2010. Early adoption is permitted and the amendments in this ASU should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods upon the date of adoption.

This ASU was issued to address practice questions on how investments held through the separate accounts of an insurance entity affect the consolidation analysis under Subtopic 810-10, Consolidation—Overall. It explains that separate accounts represent assets that are typically maintained by a life insurance entity for purposes of funding obligations to individual contract holders under fixed-benefit or variable annuity contract, personal plans, and similar contracts. The contract holder generally assumes the investment risk, and the insurance entity receives a fee for investment management, certain administrative expenses, and mortality and expense risk assumed. The accounting for separate accounts is outlined in Subtopic 944-80 Financial Services – Insurance – Separate Accounts. That Subtopic requires that the portion of separate account assets representing contract holder funds be measured at fair value and reported in the insurance entity’s financial statements as a summary total, with an equivalent summary total reported for related liabilities if all of the criteria in 944-80-25-2 are met.

Who is Affected?
Insurance entities that have separate accounts that meet the definition of a separate account in paragraph 944-80-25-2 when evaluating whether to consolidate an investment held through the separate account or through a combination of investments in the separate and general accounts are affected by this ASU. The accounting for situations in which an insurer’s general account has a controlling financial interest in an investment is not affected by the amendments in this Update and should follow existing GAAP on consolidations.

The amendments in this Update are specific to insurance entities that have separate accounts and should not be analogized for other entities in no-separate-account arrangements or other investment situations.

ASUs are available on the FASB website, www.fasb.org under Standards.

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Modified Timeline for Convergence of FASB/IASB Major Standards

The IASB and the FASB recently issued a joint statement on their convergence work.

In November 2009 the two Boards reaffirmed their commitment to improving International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and US GAAP and achieving their convergence. In that statement they affirmed June 2011 as the target date for completing the major projects in the 2006 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), as updated in 2008. Then in their March 2010 report they described the progress they had made to date, explained some of the challenges they face in improving and converging their standards in certain areas, and reported changes made to certain project-specific milestone targets.

They also recognized the challenges that arise from seeking effective global stakeholder engagement on a large number of projects. As a result of concerns expressed by various stakeholders about their ability to provide high-quality input on the large number of major Exposure Drafts planned for publication in the second quarter of 2010, the two Boards are now in the process of developing a modified strategy to take account of these concerns. This strategy would:

• Prioritize the major projects in the MoU to permit a sharper focus on issues and projects that will bring about significant improvement and convergence between IFRS and US GAAP.
• Stagger the publication of Exposure Drafts and related consultations to enable the broad-based and effective stakeholder participation in due process.
• Limit to four the number of significant or complex Exposure Drafts issued in any one quarter.
• Issue a separate consultation document seeking stakeholder input about effective dates and transition methods.

The modified strategy retains the target completion date of June 2011 for many of the projects identified by the original MoU. The target completion dates for a few projects have extended into the second half of 2011. To see more of theFASB's activities go to their website, http://www.fasb.org/.

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FASB News Release

NEWS RELEASE 03/11/10

FASB and IASB Issue Exposure Draft on the Reporting Entity Concept

Norwalk, CT, March 11, 2010—The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) today published for public comment the Exposure Draft (ED), Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting: The Reporting Entity.

The ED is part of a joint project between the FASB and IASB to develop a common and improved conceptual framework that provides a sound foundation for developing future accounting standards. It discusses what constitutes a reporting entity, which in different situations could be a group of entities, a single entity, or only a portion of an entity.

The ED is available for download at www.fasb.org or www.iasb.org. Interested parties are encouraged to review and provide comment on the ED by the July 16, 2010 deadline. More information about the Conceptual Framework project is available at www.fasb.org or by visiting www.iasb.org.

Contacts:

Neal McGarity, Director of Communications, FASB, telephone: 203-956-5347, email: nemcgarity@f-a-f.org

Mark Byatt, Director of Corporate Communications, IASB,
telephone: +44 (0)20 7246 6472, email: mbyatt@iasb.org

Sonja Horn, Communications Adviser, IASB,
telephone: +44 (0)20 7246 6463, email: shorn@iasb.org

Going Concern is Still Going!

Summary of FASB Decisions Reached to Date (As of 01/13/10)

Based upon discussions surrounding issues raised in comment letters received on the proposed FASB Statement, Going Concern, and subsequent Board meetings, the Board has decided the following:

1. To provide guidance that defines a going concern.
2. To clarify that the time period for the going concern assessment is not a bright-line 12 months but also is not intended to be an indefinite look-forward period.
3. To broaden the scope of the project to address three additional areas:
   a) Enhancing the disclosures of short-term and long-term risks, specifically risks for which there is more-than-remote likelihood of occurrence.
   b) Defining substantial doubt in terms of an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern.
   c) Developing guidance surrounding the adoption and application of the liquidation basis of accounting.
   

Next Steps

The staff will draft language to clarify the disclosure requirements related to management’s going-concern assessment, including the development of language to replace the term substantial doubt, and develop guidance surrounding the liquidation basis of accounting. The Board will review these developments and decide whether it will issue a revised Exposure Draft by the end of the first quarter of 2010.

Fin 48 Reminder

Fin 48, Uncertainty in Income Taxes, is effective for nonpublic and nonprofit entities for the first time for calendar year 2009. Determination of tax positions which may require a provision for unsustainable portions of more-likely-than-not tax return deductions, as well as penalties and interest for failure to file required tax returns for all open tax years in all applicable jurisdictions, must be made by all entities preparing financial statements on a GAAP basis. According to a recent amendment, Fin 48-3, pass-through entities and non-profit organizations must also be considered.

Both the AICPA and PPC have guides with checklists available to assist in applying Fin 48. Some practitioners are considering the use of an OCBOA to avoid application of this pronouncement. Others are determining the materiality of not applying the pronouncement in GAAP financial statements and either disclosing immaterial effects or discussing a possible departure from GAAP report paragraph with the client and the user of its financial statements.

In any event, consideration of this pronouncement should not be left until the last minute. In some cases, it may require extensive work for the client or the auditor which could delay report issuance. You can download the original pronouncement and its updates from www.fasb.org or find them in FASB's Accounting Standards Codification, Topic 740. Post a comment and tell us about your experiences in applying this pronouncement.

ASUs on Revenue Recognition

On September 15, 2009 the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ (Codification) became the source of authoritative U.S.GAAP. Rules and interpretive releases of the SEC are also sources of authoritative GAAP for SEC registrants. The FASB will not issue new standards in the form of Statements, FASB Staff Positions, or Emerging Issues Task Force Abstracts. Instead it will issue Accounting Standards Updates (ASU). ASUs are not considered as authoritative in their own right, instead they will serve to update Codification; provide background information about the guidance; and provide the bases for conclusions on the change(s) in the Codification.

As of this writing the FASB as issued 14 ASUs. Many of them are technical corrections to SEC material contained in the Codification. However, you should be aware of two of these Updates, 2009-13 and 2009-14. Both of these Updates have to do with revenue recognition.

ASU 2009–13 Revenue Recognition (Topic 605), Multiple–Deliverables Revenue Arrangement, (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force).

This Update addresses the accounting for multiple–deliverable arrangements to enable vendors to account for products or services (deliverables) separately rather than as a combined unit. It requires that arrangement consideration be allocated at the inception of the arrangement to all deliverables using the relative selling price method. The amendments in this update will affect accounting and reporting for all vendors that enter into multiple– deliverable arrangements with their customers when those arrangements are within the scope of Subtopics 605–25 (Revenue Multiple–Element Arrangements).

ASU 2009–14, Software (Topic 985) Certain Revenue Arrangements that Includes Software Elements (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force).

This update changes the accounting model for revenue arrangements that include both tangible products and software elements. The amendments also provide guidance on how a vendor should allocate arrangement considerations to deliverables in an arrangement that includes both tangible products and software.

ASUs are available for download at http://www.fasb.org/.

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FAF and FASB Response to CIFiR Report

The FASB and the FAF recently issued a response to the Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Improvements to Financial Reporting to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (CIFiR or the Committee). The Committee was chartered by the SEC in July 2007 and issued their final report August 1, 2008. The FASB and FAF response was issued August 7, 2009.

The CIFiR's final report contains a number of recommendations that are intended to increase the usefulness of financial information to investors. At the same time the recommendations were designed to reduce the complexity of the financial reporting system to investors, preparers, and auditors.

The FAF and the FASB strongly supported the formation of the Committee and its work. Robert Herz, FASB Chairman, was an Official Observer to the Committee while other FASB members participated as observers to each of the Committee’s four subcommittees. In addition the FASB provided several staff resources to the Committee.

The FAF and the FASB response explains the actions they are taking or will be taking with respect to each of the Committee’s recommendations. The response contains two parts (1) an Executive Summary that includes their response to key Committee recommendations related to accounting standards; and (2) an Appendix detailing their response to each of the Committee’s recommended improvements to accounting standard setting.

The response is available for download at http://www.fasb.org/.

Why this FAF and FASB response is important to you.

The recommendations of the Committee emphasize:

• The investors as the primary users of financial statements
• The need for a disclosure framework
• That accounting standards should be based on business activities broadly and not on specific industries.
• Improvement needed for gathering input about potential benefits and costs of proposed standards.

Additional details on the FAF and FASB response are available at www.cpafirmsupport.com.

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SFAS No. 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretaion No. 46(R)

The FASB issued Statement No. 167, Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R) in June 2009 to improve financial reporting by enterprises involved with variable interest entities. One of the reasons for this Statement is that the issuance of SFAS No. 166, Accounting for Transfers of Financial Assets eliminated the qualifying special-purpose entity concept which effected certain provisions of FASB Interpretation No. 46 (revised December 2003), Consolidation of Variable Interest Entities. A second reason is that constituent are concerned about the application of certain key provisions of Interpretation 46(R), including those in which the accounting and disclosures under the Interpretation do not always provide timely and useful information about an enterprise’s involvement in a variable interest entity.

It is effective as of the beginning of each reporting entity’s first annual reporting period that begins after November 15, 2009, for interim periods within that first annual reporting period, and for interim and annual reporting periods thereafter. Earlier application is prohibited.

It retains the scope of Interpretation 46(R) and adds entities previously considered qualifying special-purpose entities, as the concept of these entities was eliminated in Statement 166.

This Statement amends Interpretation 46(R)

· To require an enterprise to perform an analysis to determine if the enterprise’s variable interest or interests give it a controlling financial interest in a variable interest entity.
· To require ongoing reassessments of whether an enterprise is the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity.
· By replacing the quantitative-based risks and rewards calculation for determining which enterprise, if any, has a controlling financial interest in a variable interest entity with a qualitative approach which focuses on identifying which enterprise has the power to direct the activities of a variable interest entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance and (1) the obligation to absorb losses of the entity or (2) the right to receive benefits from the entity. This approach will be more effective for identifying which enterprise has a controlling financial interest in a variable interest entity.
· To require enhanced disclosures for any enterprise that holds a variable interest in a variable interest entity.
· To add an additional reconsideration event for determining whether an entity is a variable interest entity when any changes in facts and circumstances occur such that the holders of the equity investment at risk, as a group, lose the power from voting rights or similar rights of those investments to direct the activities of the entity that most significantly impact the entity’s economic performance. A troubled debt restructuring is such an event.

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What Smaller CPA Firms Can Do About Standards Overload

CPA firms are beginning to rethink their policies regarding the application of accounting standards. Here are a few ways some firms are coping with standards overload:

1. When complex standards like FIN 45, FIN 46 and FIN 48 and others are required in GAAP basis financial statements, some CPAs are recommending noncompliance. Many users of small entities’ financial statements don’t care about application of such standards. Managements’ disclosures of departures from GAAP appear in footnotes and the auditor’s and accountant’s reports contain departure paragraphs describing the noncompliance.
   
   
2. Evaluating the effects of complying with some accounting standards often reveals immaterial affects on financial statements. In such circumstances, applicable standards do not have to be applied or disclosed in financial statements.
   
   
3. Interpretive Rule 203-1 of the AICPA Code of Professional Conduct states “This rule therefore recognizes that upon occasion there may be unusual circumstances where the literal application of pronouncements on accounting principles would have the effect of rendering financial statements misleading.” In such cases, departures from GAAP may be justified and disclosed by managements and accountants.
   
   
4. Using an OCBOA, such as income tax basis or modified cash basis, greatly limits the application and disclosure of many accounting standards. Required disclosures for OCBOA presentations primarily include the significant differences from GAAP and other disclosures necessary to prevent the financial statements from being misleading.
   
   
5. Standard-setters are required to issue exposure drafts of new standards for public comment prior to finalization. Frequently visiting the exposure drafts sections of standard-setters’ websites will provide smaller CPA firms the opportunity to have a voice in their future.

Codification Launches July 1, 2009

The FASB voted on June 3, 2009 to approve the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ as the single source of authoritative nongovernmental U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). It will launch July 1, 2009.

The Codification will be effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This means that preparers must begin to use the Codification for periods that begin on or about July 1, 2009.

Calendar year-end companies would initially apply the Codification to their third-quarter interim financial statements.

All existing accounting standard documents are superseded. With the launch of the Codification all other accounting literature not included in the Codification will be considered nonauthoritative.

The FASB's website is www.fasb.org.

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Not-for-Profit Entities: Mergers and Acquisitions

Effective for reporting periods ending after December 15, 2009 SFAS No. 164 establishes principles and requirements for how a non-profit entity:

• Distinguishes between a merger and an acquisition
• Applies the carryover method when accounting for a merger
• Applies the acquisition method for acquisitions
• Determines required disclosures
  
  

SFAS No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangibles, and SFAS No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements are made applicable to nonprofit organizations in this pronouncement.

SFAS No. 164 recognizes the unique features of nonprofit organizations, such as the lack of ownership interests. Nonprofit organizations' mergers and acquisitions, therefore, focus primarily on carrying out the mission, governance and programs of the organization rather than providing returns to shareholders. Many nonprofit organizations do not involve the transfer of consideration but are nonreciprocal transfers; an acquiree's assets are contributed to the acquirer and recorded as an inherent contribution.

This statement requires the "carryover method" for mergers of nonprofit organizations. This method is similar to the old pooling of interests method in ARB 51 and APB 16. The merged organizations form a new entity with a new governing body. An acquisition is accounted for using the acquisition method.

Since information about goodwill may be of limited use to potential contributors, this statement requires an acquirer that expects the operations of the acquiree as part of the combined entity to be predominantly supported by contributions and returns on investments to recognize goodwill as a separate charge in its statement of activities.

Since there are these and other differences in accounting for mergers and acquisitions of nonprofit organizations, accountants and auditors should become familiar with the details of this pronouncement. A complete copy of SFAS No. 164 can be downloaded from www.fasb.org. The components of the statement will also be presented in FASB's Accounting Standards Codification.

Individuals subscribing to our update service on www.cpafirmsupport.com can access practical summaries of this and other proposed and new pronouncements on our Subscription Plan page.

Effective June 15, 2009—SFAS No. 165, Subsequent Events

The FASB has issued SFAS no. 165, Subsequent Events. It is effective for interim or annual financial periods ending after June 15, 2009. It applies to the accounting for and disclosure of subsequent events but does not apply to subsequent events or transactions that are within the scope of other applicable generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) that provide different guidance on the accounting treatment for subsequent events or transactions.

This Statement establishes general standards of accounting for and disclosure of events that occur after the balance sheet date but before financial statements are issued or are available to be issued. It sets forth:

1. The period after the balance sheet date during which management of a reporting entity should evaluate events or transactions that may occur for potential recognition or disclosure in the financial statements.
2. The circumstances under which an entity should recognize events or transactions occurring after the balance sheet date in its financial statements.
3. The disclosures that an entity should make about events or transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date.
   

Change to Current Practice

SFAS no. 165

1. Should not result in significant changes in the subsequent events that an entity reports—either through recognition or disclosure—in its financial statements.
2. Does introduce the concept of financial statements being available to be issued.
3. Requires the disclosure of the date through which an entity has evaluated subsequent events and the basis for that date, that is, whether that date represents the date the financial statements were issued or were available to be issued.
   
   

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