
*17.*	*New Accounting Pronouncements*

Accounting for Costs Associated with Acquiring or Renewing Insurance Contracts In October 2010, the FASB issued guidance which amends the accounting rules that define which costs associated with acquiring or renewing insurance contracts qualify as deferrable acquisition costs by insurance entities. The guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption is permitted, but must be applied as of the beginning of an entity’s annual reporting period. The adoption of this guidance is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

Clarifications to Accounting for Troubled Debt Restructurings by Creditors In April 2011, the FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update which provides additional guidance to assist creditors in determining whether a restructuring of a receivable meets the criteria to be considered a troubled debt restructuring (“TDR”), for purposes of the identification and disclosure of troubled debt restructurings, as well as for recording impairment. For purposes of identifying and disclosing troubled debt restructurings, the new guidance would be effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning on or after June 15, 2011, and would be applied retrospectively to restructurings occurring on or after January 1, 2011. For purposes of measuring impairment of a receivable restructured in a troubled debt restructuring, the proposed clarifications would be effective on a prospective basis for interim and annual periods beginning on or after June 15, 2011. An entity must disclose the total amount of receivables and the allowance for credit losses as of the end of the period of adoption related to those receivables that have now been identified as troubled debt restructurings. Implementation of this Accounting Standards Update will result in significantly higher volumes of re-aged and modified accounts being reported as troubled debt restructurings. Although we are in the process of evaluating the impact of adopting this Accounting Standards Update, we currently expect the impact will be material. Additionally, we continue to review our current customer account management policies and practices to determine if any changes will be made in future periods as a result of this guidance.

This Accounting Standards Update also clarified the effective date for new disclosure requirements for troubled debt restructurings. The new disclosure requirements for trouble debt restructurings will also be effective for interim and annual periods beginning on or after June 15, 2011.

Repurchase Agreements In April 2011, the FASB issued a new Accounting Standards Update related to repurchase agreements. This new guidance removes the criterion requiring the transferor to have the ability to repurchase or redeem the financial assets on substantially the agreed terms, even in the event of default by the transferee, and the related collateral maintenance guidance from the assessment of effective control. As a result, an entity is no longer required to consider the sufficiency of the collateral exchanged but will evaluate the transferor’s contractual rights and obligations to determine whether it maintains effective control over the transferred assets. The new guidance is required to be applied prospectively for all transactions that occur on or after January 1, 2012. Adoption is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures In May 2011, the FASB issued an Accounting Standards Update to converge with newly issued IFRS 13, Fair Value Measurement (“IFRS 13”). This new guidance primarily clarifies existing fair value measurement requirements but also makes some other amendments to align with the newly issued IFRS 13. The new guidance clarifies that the application of the highest and best use and valuation premise concepts are not relevant when measuring the fair value of financial assets or of liabilities, that is, an entity will not be able to group financial instruments for the purposes of measuring their fair value. However, an exception exists where a reporting entity manages its financial instruments on the basis of its net exposure. This Accounting Standards Update also requires new and enhanced disclosures on the quantification and valuation processes for significant unobservable inputs, transfers between Levels 1 and 2, and the categorization of all fair value measurements into the fair value hierarchy, even where those measurements are only for disclosure purposes. The guidance is effective prospectively from January 1, 2012. Adoption is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

Presentation of Comprehensive Income In June 2011, the FASB issued a new Accounting Standards Update on the presentation of other comprehensive income. This Update requires entities to present net income and other comprehensive income in either a single continuous statement or in two separate, but consecutive, statements of net income and other comprehensive income. The option to present items of other comprehensive income in the statement of changes in equity is eliminated. This Accounting Standards Update also requires reclassification adjustments between net income and other comprehensive income to be shown on the face of the statements. The new guidance is effective from January 1, 2012 with full retrospective application. Early adoption is permitted.