Financial Accounting Standard No. 133—The Reprieve

After nearly becoming effective for fiscal years beginning after June 15, 1999, Financial Accounting Standard No. 133, “Accounting for derivative instruments and hedging activities” (FAS133) has been delayed once again. First out for comment in 1996,the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB’s) draft version was met by strong objections from end users, banks, dealers, industry groups, exchanges and several regulatory agencies. Congress even stepped into the debate by introducing legislation to delay or bar the proposed accounting standard. The comment process produced numerous suggestions, many of which were incorporated. In the end, the FASB appeared to have moved significantly closer to its goals of increased financial statement transparency, consistency and comparability. In the final hour, however, at the request of many banks and corporate end users, the FASB postponed the effective date for another year.