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Technology Stocks : Discuss Year 2000 Issues -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: John Mansfield who wrote (2036)	6/22/1998 3:21:00 PM
From: John Mansfield	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9818

'But when I clicked on the Web site of a law firm that specializes in IT and year 2000 issues, this welcoming message grabbed me by the throat: "The future is closer than you think. So are we." www2.computerworld.com

To: John Mansfield who wrote (2036)	6/22/1998 3:23:00 PM
From: John Mansfield	Respond to of 9818

'Trying to figure out how far your suppliers and partners have come in addressing the year 2000 problem? Don't count on disclosures that publicly held companies are required to make to the Securities and Exchange Commission. They probably aren't very meaningful, according to a study to be released this week by Giga Information Group. After analyzing more than 1,000 10-K reports filed since February by U.S. companies across 12 vertical industries, Giga researchers found that only one in four contained any of the project cost estimates the SECrequested. Earlier this month, the SEC announced plans for more stringent disclosure guidelines within the next two months, following its appraisal of more than 1,000 publicly held companies. That study revealed that many didn't provide enough information. The Giga study also found that only 4% of the companies studied had disclosed any information about their contingency plans in the event of any year 2000 failures, and only 25% of the companies whose 10-K and 10-Q filings were analyzed mentioned plans to assess the impact of embedded systems in heating and air-conditioning systems, security systems and other non-information technology devices. "Without question, lawyers are recommending companies to be as vague as possible" in their disclosures, said Ann Coffou, an analyst at Giga in Norwell, Mass. [CW, April 27]. Several IS managers who took part in a recent Computerworld CIO luncheon agreed that the "great Y2K clam-up" is under way. That's because the SEC's Staff Legal Bulletin No. 5 on year 2000 reporting requirements lacks specific guidelines for companies to follow. For example, the SEC inadvertently lets companies define and disclose what they consider to be "material" millennium project costs. That has led many companies to file boilerplate disclosures with as little information about their projects as possible, Coffou said. ... www2.computerworld.com