Document Headings

                    Document headings vary by document type but may contain                    the following:                  
                -                       the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document                    
                -                       the number of the CFR title and the number of each part                      the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly                      related to                    
                -                       the agency docket number / agency internal file number                    
                -                       the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in                      the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory                      Actions                    

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###### Securities and Exchange Commission

          - [Securities Act of 1933; Release No. 8789/March 14, 2007; Securities Exchange Act of 1934; Release No. 55469/March 14, 2007] 

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Act”) establishes criteria that must be met in order for the accounting standards established by an accounting standard-setting body to be recognized as “generally accepted” for purposes of the federal securities laws. Section 109 of the Act provides that all of the budget of an accounting standard-setting body satisfying these criteria shall be payable from an annual accounting support fee assessed and collected against each issuer, as may be necessary or appropriate to pay for the budget and provide for the expenses of the standard setting body, and to provide for an independent, stable source of funding, subject to review by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“Commission”). Under Section 109(f) of the Act, the annual accounting support fee shall not exceed the amount of the standard setter's “recoverable budget expenses.” Section 109(h) amends Section 13(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 to require issuers to pay the allocable share of a reasonable annual accounting support fee or fees, determined in accordance with Section 109 of the Act. 

                    On April 25, 2003, the Commission issued a policy statement concluding that the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) and its parent organization, the Financial Accounting Foundation (“FAF”), satisfied the criteria for an accounting standard-setting body under the Act, and recognizing the FASB's financial accounting and reporting standards as “generally accepted” under Section 108 of the Act.[1]                                          As a consequence of that recognition, the Commission undertook a review of the FASB's accounting support fee for calendar year 2007. In connection with its review, the Commission also reviewed the proposed budget for the FAF and the FASB for calendar year 2007.                 

Section 109 of the Act also provides that the standard setting body can have additional sources of revenue for its activities, such as earnings from sales of publications, provided that each additional source of revenue shall not jeopardize the actual or perceived independence of the standard setter. In this regard, the Commission also considered the interrelation of the operating budgets of the FAF, the FASB and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (“GASB”), the FASB's sister organization, which sets accounting standards used by state and local government entities. The Commission has been advised by the FAF that neither the FAF, the FASB nor the GASB accept contributions from the accounting profession. 

After its review, the Commission determined that the 2007 annual accounting support fee for the FASB is consistent with Section 109 of the Act. Accordingly, 

It is ordered, pursuant to Section 109 of the Act, that the FASB may act in accordance with this determination of the Commission. 

By the Commission. 

Florence E. Harmon, 

Deputy Secretary. 

# Footnotes

1.                             Financial Reporting Release No. 70.                    
        Back to Citation      

 [FR Doc. E7-5003 Filed 3-19-07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8010-01-P