FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 2000-40 Commission Staff Issues SAB 101A To Provide Registrants With Additional Time To Implement Guidance On Revenue Recognition Washington, DC, March 24, 2000 -- The staff of the Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that registrants with fiscal years that begin between December 16, 1999 and March 15, 2000 may take an additional three months to implement Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) No. 101. SAB 101 provides guidance on the recognition, presentation, and disclosure of revenue in financial statements filed with the Commission. Since the issuance of SAB 101, the staff has received requests from a number of groups asking for additional time to study that guidance. In addition, the staff is aware that many companies have calendar fiscal year-ends and may need more time to perform a detailed review of the SAB since its issuance on December 3, 1999. Registrants with fiscal years that begin between December 16, 1999 and March 15, 2000 would be given the option of implementing SAB 101 in the second quarter of their fiscal year beginning after December 15, 1999, instead of needing to implement in the first quarter, as originally provided in SAB 101. Lynn E. Turner, the Commission's Chief Accountant, stated, "The staff at the Commission is interested in assuring that the business community be provided with the additional time necessary to get this done right." SAB 101A has been issued to reflect the change, and is available on the SEC website at www.sec.gov. SABs are not rules or interpretations of the Commission; they represent interpretations of existing rules, standards, and practices followed by staff of the Office of the Chief Accountant and the Division of Corporation Finance in administering the disclosure requirements of the federal securities laws. For further information contact: Richard Rodgers, Scott Taub, or Eric Jacobsen in the Office of the Chief Accountant at (202) 942-4400 or Robert Bayless in the Division of Corporation Finance at (202) 942-2960. # # #