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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission

SEC Announces July 9 Roundtable on Fair Value Accounting Standards

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2008-117

Washington, D.C., June 20, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it will host a roundtable on July 9, 2008, to facilitate an open discussion of the benefits and potential challenges associated with existing fair value accounting and auditing standards.

"This roundtable will provide an excellent opportunity for investors, preparers, auditors, regulators and other interested parties to provide the Commission and other observers with input into the usefulness of fair value accounting in the current marketplace," said SEC Chief Accountant Conrad Hewitt.

The roundtable will be organized as two panels. The first panel will discuss fair value accounting issues from the perspective of larger financial institutions and the needs of their investors. The second panel will discuss the issues from the perspective of all public companies, including small public companies, and the needs of their investors.

The panels will include investors, preparers, auditors, regulators and other interested parties. Additionally, representatives from the Financial Accounting Standards Board, International Accounting Standards Board and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will be present as observers.

The panel discussions with focus on:

  • the usefulness of fair value accounting to investors
  • potential market behavior effects from fair value accounting
  • practical experience and potential challenges in applying fair value accounting standards
  • aspects of the current standards, if any, that can be improved
  • experience with auditors providing assurance regarding fair value accounting

The roundtable will be held in the auditorium at the SEC's headquarters at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. A final agenda including a list of participants and moderators will be announced at a future date. The roundtable will be open to the public with seating on a first-come, first-served basis. The roundtable discussions also will be available via webcast on the SEC Web site.

The Commission welcomes feedback regarding any of the topics to be addressed at the roundtable. The information that is submitted will become part of the public record of the roundtable. Submissions to the Commission may be provided by any of the following methods:

Electronic submission options:

Paper submissions:

  • Send paper submissions in triplicate to Florence E. Harmon, Acting Secretary of the Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549-1090.

All submissions should refer to File Number 4-560. This file number should be included on the subject line if e-mail is used. To help process and review submissions more efficiently, please use only one method. The Commission will post all submissions on its Web site at www.sec.gov.

Please note that all submissions received will be posted without change. The SEC does not edit personal identifying information from submissions. Only information desired to be shared publicly should be submitted.

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http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-117.htm

Modified: 06/20/2008