In July 2006, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Interpretation No. 48, Accounting for Uncertainty in Income Taxes—an Interpretation of FASB Statement No. 109 (FIN 48), which clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in tax positions. This Interpretation requires that our financial statements recognize the impact of a tax position, if that position is more likely than not to be sustained on audit, based on the technical merits of the position. We adopted FIN 48 on January 1, 2007. See Note 6.
In September 2006, the FASB issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (SFAS) No. 157, Fair Value Measurements. SFAS No. 157 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. This Statement applies to other accounting pronouncements that require or permit fair value measurements, the FASB having previously concluded in those accounting pronouncements that fair value is the relevant measurement attribute. Accordingly, this Statement does not require any new fair value measurements. In February 2008, the FASB issued Staff Position 157-2 which is a partial deferral of the effective date of SFAS No. 157 as it relates to nonfinan-cial assets and liabilities. We adopted SFAS No. 157 on January 1, 2008 for financial assets and liabilities. SFAS No. 157 will not have any impact on our financial statements. We believe we will be required to provide additional disclosures as a part of future financial statements.
In February 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 159, The Fair Value Option for Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. SFAS No. 159 gives us the irrevocable option to carry many financial assets and liabilities at fair values, with changes in fair value recognized in earnings. We adopted SFAS No. 159 on January 1, 2008. We have elected not to report any financial assets or liabilities at fair value under SFAS No. 159 on January 1, 2008.
In December 2007 the FASB issued SFAS No. 141R, Business Combinations. SFAS No. 141R establishes principles and requirements for how the acquirer of a business recognizes and measures in its financial statements the identifiable assets acquired, the liabilities assumed, and any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree. The statement also provides guidance for recognizing and measuring the goodwill acquired in the business combination and determines what information to disclose to enable users of the financial statement to evaluate the nature and financial effects of the business combination. SFAS No. 141R is effective for us as of January 1, 2009. Accordingly, any business combinations we engage in will be recorded and disclosed following existing GAAP until January 1, 2009. We expect SFAS No. 141R may have an impact on our consolidated financial statements when effective, but the nature and magnitude of the specific effects will depend upon the nature, terms and size of the acquisitions we consummate after the effective date. We are still assessing the impact of this standard on our future consolidated financial statements.
