Securities and Exchange Commission December 29, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Securities and Exchange Commission is adopting, as interim final rules, amendments to the disclosure requirements for executive and director compensation. The amendments to Item 402 of Regulations S- K and S-B revise Summary Compensation Table and Director Compensation Table disclosure with respect to stock awards and option awards to provide disclosure of the compensation cost of awards over the requisite service period, as described in Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 123 (revised 2004) Share-Based Payment (FAS 123R). FAS 123R defines a requisite service period as the period or periods over which an employee is required to provide service in exchange for a share-based payment. The revised disclosure replaces disclosure in the Summary Compensation Table and Director Compensation Table of the aggregate grant date fair value of awards computed in accordance with FAS 123R. The amendments revise the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table to add a column showing, on a grant-by-grant basis, the full grant date fair value of awards computed in accordance with FAS 123R. The amendments also revise the Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table to include information concerning repriced or materially modified options, stock appreciation rights and similar option-like instruments, disclosing the incremental fair value computed as of the repricing or modification date computed in accordance with FAS 123R. The amendments to the Director Compensation Table in Item 402 of Regulation S-K require footnote disclosure corresponding to the new Grants of Plan-Based Awards Table fair value disclosures. The amendments are intended to provide investors with more complete and useful disclosure about executive compensation. Disclosing the compensation cost of stock and option awards over the requisite service period will give investors a better idea of the compensation earned by an executive or director during a particular reporting period, consistent with the principles underlying the financial statement disclosure; and retaining the requirement to disclose the grant date fair value will give investors useful information about the total impact of compensation decisions made by a company in a particular reporting period.