Commission Staff Issues SAB 101A To Provide Registrants With Additional Time To Implement Guidance On Revenue Recognition

The staff of the
Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that
registrants with fiscal years that begin between December 16,
1999 and March 15, 2000 may take an additional three months to
implement Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 101.  SAB 101
provides guidance on the recognition, presentation, and
disclosure of revenue in financial statements filed with the
Commission.

     Since the issuance of SAB 101, the staff has received
requests from a number of groups asking for additional time to
study that guidance.  In addition, the staff is aware that
many companies have calendar fiscal year-ends and may need
more time to perform a detailed review of the SAB since its
issuance on December 3, 1999.  Registrants with fiscal years
that begin between December 16, 1999 and March 15, 2000 would
be given the option of implementing SAB 101 in the second
quarter of their fiscal year beginning after December 15,
1999, instead of needing to implement in the first quarter, as
originally provided in SAB 101.

      Lynn E. Turner, the Commission’s Chief Accountant,
stated, “The staff at the Commission is interested in assuring
that the business community be provided with the additional
time necessary to get this done right.”

      SAB 101A has been issued to reflect the change, and is
available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov.  SABs are not
rules or interpretations of the Commission; they represent
interpretations of existing rules, standards, and practices
followed by staff of the Office of the Chief Accountant and
the Division of Corporation Finance in administering the
disclosure requirements of the federal securities laws.

      For further information contact:  Richard Rodgers, Scott
Taub, or Eric Jacobsen in the Office of the Chief Accountant
at (202) 942-4400 or Robert Bayless in the Division of
Corporation Finance at (202) 942-2960.