NORWALK, Conn. — As the deadline to comment on fair valueaccounting for financial institutions closed, the FinancialAccounting Standards Board was setting up a new time line for itsmerger accounting changes.

FASB has been in the process of establishing new guidelines foraccounting the mergers of nonprofit organizations for years nowwith deadlines pushed further and further back. Most recently, CUNADeputy General Counsel and Senior Vice President of RegulatoryAdvocacy Mary Dunn said FASB is looking at a Jan. 1, 2009compliance deadline for the change in merger accounting rules fromthe pooling method to the purchase method. Credit unions achieved alegislative victory last year in changing the definition of networth under the Federal Credit Union Act to avoid unintendedconsequences of this change.

Dunn said she is expecting another draft of the change out inthe next several weeks. However, FASB must determine the standardfor fair valuing in financial institutions in the meantime. CUNAwas for guidelines specific to financial institutions while NAFCUwas a bit skeptical, saying that adopting currently availablemethods are working.