New Accounting Pronouncements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

New Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]

New Accounting Pronouncements

22.   New Accounting Pronouncements

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) or other standard setting bodies that are adopted by the Company as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, we believe that the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations upon adoption.

In September 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2011-08, “Intangibles — Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment” (ASU 2011-08). This newly issued accounting standard allows an entity the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the current two-step impairment test. If an entity believes, as a result of its qualitative assessment, that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the quantitative two-step impairment test is required; otherwise, no further testing is required. These amendments do not change the current guidance for testing other indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment. This ASU is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011, which for Biogen Idec means January 1, 2012. Early adoption is permitted. We are currently evaluating the potential impact the early adoption of this statement may have on our financial position and results of operations.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, “Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income” (ASU 2011-05). This newly issued accounting standard (1) eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders’ equity; (2) requires the consecutive presentation of the statement of net income and other comprehensive income; and (3) requires an entity to present reclassification adjustments on the face of the financial statements from other comprehensive income to net income. The amendments in this ASU do not change the items that must be reported in other comprehensive income or when an item of other comprehensive income must be reclassified to net income nor do the amendments affect how earnings per share is calculated or presented. This ASU is required to be applied retrospectively and is effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those years beginning after December 15, 2011, which for Biogen Idec means January 1, 2012. As this accounting standard only requires enhanced disclosure, the adoption of this standard will not impact our financial position or results of operations.

In May 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-04, “Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs” (ASU 2011-04). This newly issued accounting standard clarifies the application of certain existing fair value measurement guidance and expands the disclosures for fair value measurements that are estimated using significant unobservable (Level 3) inputs. This ASU is effective on a prospective basis for annual and interim reporting periods beginning on or after December 15, 2011, which for Biogen Idec means January 1, 2012. We do not expect that adoption of this standard will have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

In January 2010, we adopted a newly issued accounting standard which requires additional disclosure about the amounts of and reasons for significant transfers in and out of Level 1 and Level 2 fair value measurements. This standard also clarified existing disclosure requirements related to the level of disaggregation of fair value measurements for each class of assets and liabilities and requires disclosures about inputs and valuation techniques used to measure fair value for both recurring and nonrecurring Level 2 and Level 3 measurements. In addition, effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2010, which for Biogen Idec was January 1, 2011; this standard further requires an entity to present disaggregated information about activity in Level 3 fair value measurements on a gross basis, rather than as one net amount. As this newly issued accounting standard only requires enhanced disclosure, the adoption of this standard did not impact our financial position or results of operations.