FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                    2000-87

  Commission Staff Issues SAB 101B To Provide Registrants With
  Additional Time To Implement Guidance On Revenue Recognition

     Washington, DC, June 26, 2000 -- The staff of the Securities
and Exchange Commission today issued Staff Accounting Bulletin
No. (SAB) 101B, which allows registrants to wait until the fourth
quarter of their fiscal year beginning after December 15, 1999 to
implement SAB No. 101.  SAB 101 provides guidance on the
recognition, presentation, and disclosure of revenue in financial
statements filed with the Commission.

     Although SAB 101A was issued in March to provide additional
time for many companies to implement SAB 101, the staff has
continued to receive questions and requests for additional
guidance.  In response to those requests, members of the SEC
staff have been working with representatives of both industry and
audit firms to develop a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
document that provides the requested guidance.  The FAQ will be
available in the near future.

     Both industry and audit firm representatives have indicated
that, although the issuance of the FAQ will provide useful and
helpful guidance in applying the concepts in SAB 101, an
additional delay in the required implementation date would still
be prudent, solely to provide registrants with more time to
assess the impact of the SAB on their financial statements.  The
delay until the fourth quarter of fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 1999 provides registrants with an additional six to
nine months to complete their assessment of the impact of SAB
101.  In accordance with generally accepted accounting
principles, registrants who implement the guidance of SAB 101 in
the fourth quarter of their fiscal year will adjust the
previously reported quarterly information for that fiscal year to
conform to the new presentation.
     
     Lynn E. Turner, the Commission's Chief Accountant, stated,
"Members of the accounting profession and industry have noted
that they need additional time to properly implement SAB 101.
The FAQ that working groups of the accounting profession,
industry, and the SEC staff are developing should provide useful
guidance during the deferral period."
     
     Registrants and their auditors are reminded of their
disclosure obligations pursuant to SAB Topic 11M, Disclosure of
the Impact that Recently Issued Accounting Standards Will Have on
the Financial Statements of a Registrant When Adopted in a Future
Period; AICPA professional standards section AU 9410.3, The
Impact on an Auditor's Report of an FASB Statement Prior to the
Statement's Effective Date; and Management's Discussion and
Analysis.  The disclosure should notify investors that guidance
has been issued and assist the investor in assessing the
significance of the impact that the guidance will have on the
financial statements when implemented.
     
     SAB 101B 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.
                                
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