It is the eve of stock-option expensing. The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s now-infamous FAS 123R requires that most public companies begin accounting for the costs of stock-based compensation as of their first fiscal year that begins after June 15. For companies with a calendar year-end, that won’t be until the March 31, 2006, quarter.
But at least 26 companies will kick off this exercise next month, since they have a fiscal year ending June 30. That’s according to corporate communications firm Financial Dynamics, which cites Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Newscorp as some of the first companies to begin expensing stock-based compensation under the new standard. Cisco Systems, one of the most vocal opponents of the new requirement, has a fiscal year that ends July 31.
