NEWS RELEASE 03/06/01

The FASB Publishes Report on Redundancies, GAAP-SEC Disclosure Requirements

Norwalk, CT, March 6, 2001—Redundancies that exist between generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) financial reporting requirements create confusion and inefficiency for preparers of financial statements. To address this issue, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) sponsored a study as part of its Business Reporting Research Project. The project's analysis of reporting requirements is covered in the newly published GAAP-SEC Disclosure Requirements. The report is available free of charge on the FASB's website www.fasb.org.

The report identifies and recommends measures to eliminate redundancies in GAAP and SEC disclosure requirements. Other objectives of the study include:

• Review of SEC reporting requirements for one specialized industry and suggestions for improvement

   

• Recommendation of improvements to the structure and organization of disclosures within the 10-K

Robert H. Herz, Chairman of the Working Group that prepared the report and Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, stated, "This report is being sent to the SEC, FASB and AICPA for them to take action in eliminating existing redundancies and to prevent their creation in the future. As directed by the Business Reporting Research Project's Steering Committee, the report focused on redundancies and was not an evaluation of the usefulness or effectiveness of disclosure requirements."

This report is the third in a series that the Business Reporting Research Project has recently completed. The first report examined the electronic distribution of business reporting information and the second focused on corporate voluntary disclosure practices. All of the reports are available on the FASB website.

About the Financial Accounting Standards Board

Since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely heavily on credible, transparent, and comparable financial information. For more information about the FASB, visit our website at www.fasb.org.