Next week, I will moderate two webcasts featuring excellent panels. The first, previously previewed here (and now rescheduled for Tuesday, January 12, at 2 pm Eastern), is on the “Causes and Economic Consequences of Merger & Acquisition Disputes.”

The second, recently added to the webcast calendar for Thursday, January 14, at 2 pm Eastern, will cover "Year-end Reporting Considerations for Financial Institutions." Here is a brief summary of this webcast:

The economic crisis has made impairment a key financial reporting issue at year-end 2009. Securities, loans, goodwill and deferred tax assets have suffered impairments resulting in significant impacts on regulatory capital and reported income.

Our panelists will describe the current regulatory environment and asset impairment considerations, and discuss the reporting and regulatory impact of writedowns. They will also discuss year-end accounting and disclosure issues affecting financial institutions, offering insights about the SEC’s perspectives on these matters.

Please join panelists Brian W. Smith and Joel H. Trotter, partners of Latham & Watkins, and Donald A. Walker, Jr., Senior Managing Director, and Thomas G. Rees, Managing Director, of FTI’s Forensic and Litigation Consulting Practice as they address these issues and answer your questions.

To attend either of these webcasts, please visit this link (here) and simply click on the webcast in which you are interested.