Enzi: Stock Options Ruling Needs "Due Process."

Washington (March 10, 2003) -- Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., said the financial Accounting Standards Board should not stack the rule-making deck to favor expensing of stock options.

Enzi, who was an accountant before being elected to the Senate, exhorted FASB to conduct its business with a "commitment to due process," and he said the board should not shirk its duty to fairly consider both pro and con arguments about the hot-button issue.

"The board is assuming stock options should be expensed and skipping to the next level. First the question of whether or not to expense should be formally addressed with input on both sides of the issue before the board proceeds," said Enzi in a statement.

Enzi and a bipartisan group of senators — including 2004 presidential candidate Joe Lieberman, D-Conn.; Barbara Boxer, D-Calif.; Pete Domenici, R-N.M.; and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass. — sent a letter to FASB outlining their concerns about how the board is proceeding on the issue.

-- Electronic Accountant Newswire staff

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