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SEC may delay options rules

SEC may delay options rules
By Associated Press / April 14, 2005

WASHINGTON -- Most US companies would get a six-month reprieve from new rules requiring employees' stock options to be counted against profits, in a move likely to be made by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The new rules set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board call for publicly traded companies to record employee stock options as an expense beginning with their first fiscal reporting period after June 15. The mandate could dramatically reduce the reported earnings of many big companies, especially in the high-tech industry.

But SEC staff members have recommended delaying when the rules take effect, a person familiar with the matter said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity and confirming a report in The Wall Street Journal.


LINK: http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/04/14/sec_may_delay_options_rules/