Most business appraisers have been simply watching the recent regulatory storm over stock option pricing and accounting, awaiting further guidance from the SEC as well as the Big Four auditors. Just two weeks ago, the SEC issued its official views on the “appropriate application of the stock option accounting literature,” including the application of Accounting Principles Board Opinion 25 (the applicable standard prior to FASB’s adoption of Statement No. 123). The SEC’s letter primarily addresses “questions about whether a company’s determination of the measurement date of past stock option awards was appropriate.”
For a copy of the letter and a summary by FEI (Financial Executives International), whose Chairman is one of the addressees, click here; the site also contains a link to a comprehensive response by Deloitte & Touche.