FASB FSP issued to improve financial reporting for financial instruments.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board on Dec. 24, 2008, issued the second of two proposed FASB Staff Positions intended to address concerns arising from the current financial crisis relating to accounting for financial instruments.

Proposed FSP FAS 107-a, Disclosures about Certain Financial Assets: An Amendment of FASB Statement No. 107, would amend the disclosure requirements in FASB Statement No. 107, Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments, to increase the comparability of information about certain financial assets that have related economic characteristics but have different measurement attributes. The proposed FSP would apply to certain financial assets such as (a) debt securities classified as held-to-maturity and available-for-sale and (b) loans and long-term receivables that are not measured at fair value with changes in the fair value recognized through earnings. The disclosures that would be required include (a) a comparison of common measurement attributes for financial assets and (b) the pro forma income from continuing operations (before taxes) under the different...