The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. 2009 Annual Report

MANAGEMENT'S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
(continued)

RECENTLY ISSUED ACCOUNTING STANDARDS
In June 2009, the FASB issued SFAS No. 168, "The FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ and the Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles" ("SFAS No. 168"). SFAS No. 168 establishes the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ (the "Codification") as the single source of authoritative U.S. generally accepted accounting principles ("U.S. GAAP") recognized by the FASB to be applied by nongovernmental entities. Rules and interpretive releases of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") under authority of federal securities laws are also sources of authoritative U.S. GAAP for SEC registrants. SFAS No. 168 and the Codification become effective for our September 30, 2009 interim consolidated financial statements. We do not expect SFAS No. 168 or the Codification to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In June 2009, the FASB issued SFAS No. 167, "Amendments to FASB Interpretation No. 46(R)" ("SFAS No. 167"). SFAS No. 167 eliminates the exception to consolidate a qualifying special-purpose entity, changes the approach to determining the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity and requires companies to more frequently reassess whether they must consolidate variable interest entities. Under the new guidance, the primary beneficiary of a variable interest entity is identified qualitatively as the enterprise that has both (a) the power to direct the activities of a variable interest entity that most significantly impact the entity's economic performance, and (b) the obligation to absorb losses of the entity that could potentially be significant to the variable interest entity or the right to receive benefits from the entity that could potentially be significant to the variable interest entity. SFAS No. 167 becomes effective for our fiscal 2011 year-end and interim reporting periods thereafter. We do not expect SFAS No. 167 to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

In April 2009, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 107-1 and APB 28-1, "Interim Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments," principally to require publicly traded companies to provide disclosures about fair value of financial instruments in interim financial information. The adoption of this disclosure-only guidance will not have an impact on our consolidated financial results and is effective beginning with our fiscal 2010 interim period ending September 30, 2009.

In April 2009, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 141(R)-1, "Accounting for Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed in a Business Combination That Arise from Contingencies," to require that assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination that arise from contingencies be recognized at fair value if fair value can be reasonably determined. If the fair value of such assets or liabilities cannot be reasonably determined, then they would generally be recognized in accordance with SFAS No. 5, "Accounting for Contingencies" and FASB Interpretation No. 14, "Reasonable Estimation of the Amount of a Loss-an interpretation of FASB Statement No. 5." This FSP also amends the subsequent accounting for assets and liabilities arising from contingencies in a business combination and certain other disclosure requirements. This FSP is effective for assets or liabilities arising from contingencies in business combinations that are consummated during our fiscal 2010.

In December 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 132(R)-1, "Employers' Disclosures about Postretirement Benefit Plan Assets" ("FSP No. FAS 132(R)-1") to require employers to provide additional disclosures about plan assets of a defined benefit pension or other post-retirement plan. These disclosures should principally include information detailing investment policies and strategies, the major categories of plan assets, the inputs and valuation techniques used to measure the fair value of plan assets and an understanding of significant concentrations of risk within plan assets. While earlier application of the provisions of this FSP is permitted, the disclosures required by this FSP shall be provided for fiscal years ending after December 15, 2009 (or our fiscal 2010, the anticipated period of adoption). Upon initial application, the provisions of this FSP are not required for earlier periods that are presented for comparative purposes.

In November 2008, the FASB ratified the consensus reached on Emerging Issues Task Force ("EITF") Issue No. 08-7, "Accounting for Defensive Intangible Assets" ("EITF No. 08-7"). Defensive intangible assets are assets acquired in a business combination that the acquirer (a) does not intend to use or (b) intends to use in a way other than the assets' highest and best use as determined by an evaluation of market participant assumptions. While defensive intangible assets are not being actively used, they are likely contributing to an increase in the value of other assets owned by the acquiring entity. EITF No. 08-7 will require defensive intangible assets to be accounted for as separate units of accounting at the time of acquisition and the useful life of such assets would be based on the period over which the assets will directly or indirectly affect the entity's cash flows. This Issue would be applied prospectively for defensive intangible assets acquired on or after the beginning of our fiscal 2010, in order to coincide with the effective date of SFAS No. 141 (revised 2007), "Business Combinations" ("SFAS No. 141(R)").

In November 2008, the FASB ratified the consensus reached on EITF Issue No. 08-6, "Accounting for Equity Method Investment Considerations" ("EITF No. 08-6"). EITF No. 08-6 addresses questions about the potential effect of SFAS No. 141(R) and SFAS No. 160, "Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements-an amendment of ARB No. 51" ("SFAS No. 160") on equity method accounting. The primary issues include how the initial carrying value of an equity method investment should be determined, how to account for any subsequent purchases and sales of additional ownership interests, and whether the investor must separately assess its underlying share of the investee's indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment. The effective date of EITF No. 08-6 coincides with that of SFAS No. 141(R) and SFAS No. 160 and is to be applied on a prospective basis beginning in our fiscal 2010. Early adoption is not permitted for entities that previously adopted an alternate accounting policy.

In April 2008, the FASB issued FSP No. FAS 142-3, "Determination of the Useful Life of Intangible Assets" ("FSP No. FAS 142-3"). This FSP amends the factors that should be considered in developing renewal or extension assumptions used to determine the useful life of a recognized intangible asset under SFAS No. 142, "Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets" ("SFAS No. 142"). This FSP also adds certain disclosures to those already prescribed in SFAS No. 142. FSP No. FAS 142-3 becomes effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning in our fiscal 2010. The guidance for determining useful lives must be applied prospectively to intangible assets acquired after the effective date. The disclosure requirements must be applied prospectively to all intangible assets recognized as of the effective date.

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 141(R). SFAS No. 141(R) replaces SFAS No. 141, "Business Combinations," however, it retains the fundamental requirements of the former Statement that the acquisition method of accounting (previously referred to as the purchase method) be used for all business combinations and for an acquirer to be identified for each business combination. SFAS No. 141(R) defines the acquirer as the entity that obtains control of one or more businesses in the business combination and establishes the acquisition date as the date that the acquirer achieves control. Among other requirements, SFAS No. 141(R) requires the acquiring entity in a business combination to recognize the identifiable assets acquired, liabilities assumed and any noncontrolling interest in the acquiree at their acquisition-date fair values, with limited exceptions; acquisition-related costs generally will be expensed as incurred. SFAS No. 141(R) requires certain financial statement disclosures to enable users to evaluate and understand the nature and financial effects of the business combination. SFAS No. 141(R) must be applied prospectively to business combinations that are consummated on or after July 1, 2009.

In December 2007, the FASB issued SFAS No. 160 to establish accounting and reporting standards for the noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary and for the deconsolidation of a subsidiary. Among other requirements, SFAS No. 160 clarifies that a noncontrolling interest in a subsidiary, which is sometimes referred to as minority interest, is to be reported as a separate component of equity in the consolidated financial statements. SFAS No. 160 also requires consolidated net income to include the amounts attributable to both the parent and the noncontrolling interest and to disclose those amounts on the face of the consolidated statement of earnings. SFAS No. 160 must be applied prospectively for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning in our fiscal 2010, except for the presentation and disclosure requirements, which will be applied retrospectively for all periods presented.

In December 2007, the FASB ratified the consensus reached on EITF Issue No. 07-1, "Collaborative Arrangements," ("EITF No. 07-1"). This Issue addresses accounting for collaborative arrangement activities that are conducted without the creation of a separate legal entity for the arrangement. Revenues and costs incurred with third parties in connection with the collaborative arrangement should be presented gross or net by the collaborators pursuant to the guidance in EITF Issue No. 99-19, "Reporting Revenue Gross as a Principal versus Net as an Agent," and other applicable accounting literature. Payments to or from collaborators should be presented in the income statement based on the nature of the arrangement, the nature of the company's business and whether the payments are within the scope of other accounting literature. Other detailed information related to the collaborative arrangement is also required to be disclosed. The requirements under this Issue must be applied to collaborative arrangements in existence at the beginning of our fiscal 2010 using a modified version of retrospective application. We are currently not a party to significant collaborative arrangement activities, as defined by EITF No. 07-1.