Citizens Funds Backs Proposed Rule for Expensing Stock Options; Socially Responsible Mutual Fund Company Urges Public to Register Support to Improve Corporate Transparency.Business Editors PORTSMOUTH Portsmouth, city, England Portsmouth, city (1991 pop. 174,218) and district, Hampshire, S England, on Spithead Channel. The district includes Portsea (naval station), Southsea (residential district and resort), and the old town of Portsmouth proper. , N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 26, 2004 Citizens Funds reiterated its support of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's proposed rule to require that companies report the cost of stock options in their financial statements. That support was most recently demonstrated in a letter writing campaign initiated by a comment letter from Citizens president Sophia Collier Sophia Collier is the founder and chair of the Board of Directors of Citizens Advisers, Inc. and is the creator of the Citizens IndexSM, an index of socially responsible large-capitalization companies. to FASB FASB See: Financial Accounting Standards Board FASB See Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). chairman Robert Robert, Henry Martyn 1837-1923. American army engineer and parliamentary authority. He designed the defenses for Washington, D.C., during the Civil War and later wrote Robert's Rules of Order (1876). Noun 1. H. Herz. Collier recognized the value of stock options as a tool to attract and retain talent, but added, "The currently used disclosures on financial statements are insufficiently prominent and thus are often overlooked, giving investors an incomplete picture of a company's liabilities. This absence of cost data is why financial statements are distorted." In the year since the Board added this effort to its review list, over 450 publicly traded companies publicly traded company A company whose shares of common stock are held by the public and are available for purchase by investors. The shares of publicly traded firms are bought and sold on the organized exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. have adopted or stated their intention to adopt the fair value based accounting method outlined in the Board's Statement No. 123. This week, Citizens Funds encouraged its shareholders and the general public to contact the Board to urge their own support for the reform proposal. Citizens has posted a sample letter on its website at www.citizensfunds.com/fasb and has also provided additional background information on the issue. Interested members of the public may choose to modify the letter and electronically submit their comment to FASB directly from Citizens' website. The Board's deadline for receiving comments ends on June 30, 2004. About Citizens Funds Citizens Funds, one of the nation's oldest and largest socially responsible mutual fund families, seeks to invest in financially sound companies that demonstrate good corporate citizenship Corporate Citizenship The extent to which businesses are socially responsible in meeting legal, ethical and economic responsibilities placed on them by shareholders. The aim it to create higher standards of living and quality of life in the community in which it operates, while . Citizens serves the needs of individual and institutional investors Institutional Investor A non-bank person or organization that trades securities in large enough share quantities or dollar amounts that they qualify for preferential treatment and lower commissions. with a wide array of investment options, including domestic and global equity, fixed-income and money market products. Contact for Citizens: Val Dingle 603.766.5604 vdingle@citizensfunds.com. Please call 800.223.7010 for a prospectus that contains complete details of investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses for Citizens Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus and consider these factors carefully before investing. Distributed by Citizens Securities, Inc., Portsmouth, NH 03801. |
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