This Special Report presents examples of the most frequently issued Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff comments from the staff's financial statement reviews of all registrants at least once every three years. It provides a detailed discussion of these areas and links to related resources. Areas covered include:

• Business combinations, long-lived assets and impairments
• Contingencies
• Discontinued operations and assets held for sale
• Earnings per share
• Fair value and the turmoil surrounding the credit market
• Financial instruments
• Financial statement classification
• Management's discussion and analysis
• Revenue recognition
• Staff Accounting Bulletin 74
• SEC reporting (Regulation S-X misapplication)
• Segment reporting
• Share-based payments
• Uncertain tax positions
• Use of experts and consents

View all issues in the Special Reports series.