Recent Accounting Pronouncements In June 2001, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) No. 142, “Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets” effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2001. Under the new rules, purchased goodwill and intangible assets with indefinite useful lives will no longer be amortized but will be subject to annual impairment tests in accordance with the provisions of the statements. Intangible assets with estimable useful lives are amor- tized over their respective useful lives, and reviewed for impairment in accordance with SFAS No. 144, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets.” The Company applied the new rules on accounting for goodwill and intangible assets beginning in the first quarter of 2002. Application of the non-amortization provisions of SFAS No. 142 did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial statements. The Company performed the required initial impairment test of goodwill as of January 1, 2002 and determined there was no impact on the consolidated earnings and financial position of the Company at that time. For the year ended December 31, 2002, the Company performed the required annual impairment test during the fourth quarter and determined that no impairment had occurred. In June 2001, the FASB issued SFAS No. 143, “Accounting for Asset Retirement Obligations” which addresses financial accounting and reporting for obligations associated with the retirement of tangible long-lived assets and for the associated asset retirement costs. The standard applies to legal obligations associated with the retirement of long-lived assets that result from the acquisition, construction or devel- opment and/or normal use of the asset. The Company is required and plans to adopt the provisions of SFAS No. 143 beginning in the first quarter of 2003. Management does not anticipate that adoption of SFAS No. 143 will result in a significant impact on the Company’s consolidated financial condition or results of operations. In August 2001, SFAS No. 144, “Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets” was issued which addresses financial accounting and reporting for the impairment or disposal of long-lived assets. While this standard supersedes SFAS No. 121, “Accounting for the Impairment of Long-Lived Assets and for Long- Lived Assets to Be Disposed Of,” it retains many of the fundamental provisions of that standard. SFAS No. 144 also supersedes the accounting and reporting provisions of APB Opinion No. 30, “Reporting the Results of Operations – Reporting the Effects of Disposal of a Segment of a Business, and Extraordinary, Unusual and Infrequently Occurring Events and Transactions,” for the disposal of a segment of a business. The Company adopted the provisions of SFAS No. 144 beginning in the first quarter of 2002. Adoption of SFAS No. 144 had no impact on the consolidated earnings and finan- cial position of the Company. 72 expd 02 MD&A