Uncertain about financial reporting obligations for taxes? TEI seminar fills the bill: FAS 109 program set for September.

Tax executives confront more than the usual uncertainty and ambiguity this fall. After months and months of promises, the Financial Accounting Standards Board released its long-awaited exposure draft on Accounting for Uncertain Tax Positions interpreting FAS 109 on Bastille Day. The effective date of the July 14 exposure draft is fiscal years ending after December 15, 2005.

According to the FASB, the new interpretation will improve the comparability of financial statements and ensure greater consistency in financial reporting for taxes. "One thing is certain," TEI President Mike Boyle observed. "If the exposure draft is implemented, it will significantly alter the financial reporting of tax expense and liabilities."

To ensure that tax executives and their staffs are fully conversant with the latest interpretation of FAS 109--and what it means for their companies--TEI will hold a two-day seminar on Financial Reporting for Tax Executives in September at the Chicago Hyatt O'Hare.

"TEI has been keenly monitoring developments at the FASB for the past year," Mr. Boyle explained. "For more than a year a special Financial Accounting Task Force has been FASB developments, providing input to the FASB staff, and gathering member feedback for potential comments on the exposure draft. Now, the task force, working with TEI's Federal Tax Committee, has put together several outstanding educational programs and conference sessions on FAS 109 financial reporting developments."

The September 22-23 program will build on the success of TEI's November 2004 offering on FAS 109, which drew more than 350 registrants. Neil D. Traubenberg who served on the planning committee for both seminars noted: "We retained the basic structure of the earlier program--covering FAS 109 from soup to nuts and also addressing related topics, such as M&A and equity compensation, that have significant tax effects. Based on participant feedback, we also tweaked the speakers and sessions." In addition to expanded coverage of the new exposure draft, the program will address the tax provision process redesign, FAS 109 software, and lessons learned under section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

Russell Golden, Senior Technical Advisor for the FASB, will participate in the program. Mr. Boyle noted, "The comment period for the exposure draft ends September 12, just prior to the program. Seminar participants will be able to learn the FASB staff's reactions to the public comments, including TEI's." He urged interested tax executives to register early to avoid being closed out of the program.