FASB Issues Statements on Business Combinations, Goodwill.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued Statement No. 141, Business Combinations, and Statement No. 142, Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets.

Statement 141 improves the transparency of the accounting and reporting for business combinations by requiring that all business combinations be accounted for under a single method--the purchase method. Use of the pooling-of-interests method is no longer permitted. Statement 141 requires that the purchase method be used for business combinations initiated after June 30, 2001.

Statement 142 requires that goodwill no longer be amortized to...