FASB Extends Comment Period for Contingencies Standard

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has voted to extend the comment period by an additional 30 days for its proposed standards on the disclosure of loss contingencies.

FASB issued Accounting Standards Update, “Contingencies (Topic 450): Disclosure of Certain Loss Contingencies,” on July 20, with an initial deadline for comments of Aug. 20. The board voted on Wednesday to extend the comment deadline to Sept. 20, 2010.

“Today’s decision reflects the initial feedback we received from our stakeholders during the board’s due process,” said FASB chairman Robert Herz in a statement. “Many early respondents told the FASB that the comment deadline for this Accounting Standards Update was difficult to meet because of quarterly reporting deadlines, other important proposals in need of attention and the summer vacation plans of key personnel. The board members heard these concerns and agreed that an extension of the comment period would be helpful to the board’s due process.”

Some companies have worried that the disclosure of loss contingencies could expose them to the threat of litigation, reveal the strategies they have for responding to lawsuits, or indicate grounds on which they could be sued and how much money they have set aside for a settlement (see FASB Reconsiders Loss Contingencies for Litigation).

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