Transition to New Accounting Rules: The Case of FAS 87.
研究了42家提前采用FAS 87养老金会计准则的公司，发现新准则下养老金费用普遍低于前一年，且差异显著，对会计准则制定者考虑过渡期有参考价值。
Abstract This article discusses the results of a study conducted to assess the impact of adoption of the FAS 87 directives of the U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on the financial results reported by adopting firms. A set of 42 firms was identified that adopted FAS 87 for their 1985 financial statements. The 42 firms consist of nearly all major firms that early-adopted in 1985 for which annual report data could be obtained. The purpose of this article is also to examine the differences in the characteristics of firms that early-adopted FAS 87 in 1985 and 1986 versus those that adopted when FAS 87 became required in 1987. The study revealed that pension expense under FAS 87 is lower than that of the preceding year, and the magnitude of the difference is quite impressive. For 1985 early adoptors pension expense in 1985 is less than 1984 for 39 of 42 firms. Twenty of the 1985 early adoptors did not show a pension expense at all in 1985. The result was similar for 1986 early adoptors. Pension expense in 1986 was less than 1985 for all but five of the 50 early-adopting firms. According to the author, this study of the transition period for FAS 87 suggests that the FASB has a number of complex, very practical factors to take into account as it considers long transition periods for future accounting pronouncements.