00-16580. Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101B

AGENCY:

Securities and Exchange Commission.

ACTION:

Publication of Staff Accounting Bulletin.

SUMMARY:

Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101 (“SAB 101”) was released on December 3, 1999 (64 FR 68936 December 9, 1999) and provides the staff's views in applying generally accepted accounting principles to selected revenue recognition issues. SAB 101A was released on March 24, 2000 (65 FR 16811 March 30, 2000) and delayed for one fiscal quarter the implementation date of SAB 101 for registrants with fiscal years beginning between December 16, 1999 and March 15, 2000. Since the issuance of SAB 101 and SAB 101A, the staff has continued to receive requests from a number of groups asking for additional time to determine the effect, if any, on registrant's revenue recognition practices. This staff accounting bulletin delays the implementation date of SAB 101 until no later than the fourth fiscal quarter of fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1999.

EFFECTIVE DATE:

June 26, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Richard Rodgers, Scott Taub, or Eric Jacobsen, Professional Accounting Fellows, Office of the Chief Accountant (202/942-4400) or Robert Bayless, Division of Corporation Finance (202/942-2960), Securities and Exchange Commission, 450 Fifth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20549; electronic addresses: [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; or [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The statements in the staff accounting bulletins are not rules or interpretations of the Commission, nor are they published as bearing the Commission's official approval. They represent interpretations and practices followed by the Division of Corporation Finance and the Office of the Chief Accountant in administering the disclosure requirements of the Federal securities laws.

Dated: June 26, 2000.

Margaret H. McFarland,

Deputy Secretary.

PART 211—[AMENDED]

Accordingly, Part 211 of Title 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended by adding Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101B to the table found in Subpart B.

Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101B

[The text of Staf Accounting Bulletin No. 101B will not appear in the Code of Federal Regulations.]

The staff hereby amends Question 2 of Section B of Topic 13 of the Staff Accounting Bulletin Series.

Topic 13: Revenue Recognition

* * * * *

B. Disclosures

Question 1

* * * * *

Question 2

Question: Will the staff expect retroactive changes by registrants to comply with the accounting described in this bulletin?

Interpretive Response: All registrants are expected to apply the accounting and disclosures described in this bulletin. The staff, however, will not object if registrants that have not applied this accounting do not restate prior financial statements provided they report a change in accounting principle in accordance with APB Opinion No. 20, Accounting Changes, and FASB Statement No. 3, Reporting Accounting Changes in Interim Financial Statements, no later than the fourth fiscal quarter of the fiscal year beginning after December 15, 1999. In periods subsequent to transition, registrants should disclose the amount of revenue (if material to income before income taxes) recognized in those periods that was included in the cumulative effect adjustment. If a registrant files financial statements with the Commission before applying the guidance in this bulletin, disclosures similar to those described in Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 11-M, Disclosure of the Impact that Recently Issued Accounting Standards Will Have on the Financial Statements of a Registrant When Adopted in a Future Period, should be provided. With regard to question 10 of Topic 13-A and Topic 8-A regarding income statement presentation, the staff would normally expect retroactive application to all periods presented unless the effect of applying the guidance herein is immaterial.

However, if registrants have not previously complied with generally accepted accounting principles, for example, by recording revenue for products prior to delivery that did not comply with the applicable bill-and-hold guidance, those registrants should apply the guidance in APB Opinion No. 20 for the correction of an error.^[1] In addition, registrants should be aware that the Commission may take enforcement action where a registrant in prior financial statements has violated the antifraud or disclosure provisions of the securities laws with respect to revenue recognition.

Footnotes

1.  APB Opinion No. 20, ¶ 13 and ¶ 36-37 describe and provide the accounting and disclosure requirements applicable to the correction of an error in previously issued financial statements. Because the term “error” as used in APB Opinion No. 20 includes “oversight or misuse of facts that existed at the time that the financial statements were prepared,” that term includes both unintentional errors as well as intentional fraudulent financial reporting and misappropriation of assets as described in Statement on Auditing Standards No. 82, Consideration of Fraud in a Financial Statement Audit.