New accounting standards

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

New accounting standards

New accounting standards

8. New accounting standards

In April 2011, the FASB amended existing guidance for assisting a creditor in determining whether a restructuring is a troubled debt restructuring.  The amendments clarify the guidance for a creditor’s evaluation of whether it has granted a concession and whether a debtor is experiencing financial difficulties. With regard to determining whether a concession has been granted, the ASU clarifies that creditors are precluded from using the effective interest method to determine whether a concession has been granted. In the absence of using the effective interest method, a creditor must now focus on other considerations such as the value of the underlying collateral, evaluation of other collateral or guarantees, the debtor’s ability to access other funds at market rates, interest rate increases and whether the restructuring results in a delay in payment that is insignificant. This guidance is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after June 15, 2011, and should be applied retrospectively to the beginning of the annual period of adoption.  For purposes of measuring impairment on newly identified troubled debt restructurings, the amendments should be applied prospectively for the first interim or annual period beginning on or after June 15, 2011.  This amendment did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial position or results of operations.

In June 2011, the FASB amended existing guidance and eliminated the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as a part of the statement of changes in shareholder’s equity. The amendment requires that comprehensive income be presented in either a single continuous statement or in two separate statements. The amendments in this guidance are effective as of the beginning of a fiscal reporting year, and interim periods within that year, that begins after December 15, 2011. Early adoption is permitted. The adoption of this amendment will change the presentation of the components of comprehensive income for the Corporation as part of the consolidated statement of shareholder’s equity.

In September 2011, the FASB issued an update to existing guidance relating to goodwill impairment testing. The amendments in this update permit an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than the carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test. The more likely than not threshold is defined as having a likelihood of more than 50 percent. If after assessing the totality of events or circumstances, it is not more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the entity is required to perform the first step of the two-step impairment. If the carrying amount of the reporting unit exceeds its fair value, then the entity is required to perform the second step of the goodwill impairment test to measure the amount of the impairment loss. This update is effective for the Company for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011 with early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting the new guidance on the consolidated financial statements, but it is not expected to have a material impact.