The roundtables are designed to provide input to the SEC as part of a Congressionally mandated study pursuant to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. The date and time of the second roundtable will be announced at a later date.

"These roundtables will provide the Commission with valuable insights from investors, issuers, and others affected by recent developments in the marketplace," said SEC Chief Accountant Conrad Hewitt. "We are interested in hearing participants' views on transparency and usefulness of reported financial information in times of market turmoil."

The first roundtable will consist of two panels. The first panel will discuss the interaction between mark-to-market accounting for financial institutions and the current economic situation. The second panel will focus on potential improvements to the current accounting model and implications of possible changes.

Mark-to-market accounting, which is also known as 'fair-value accounting,' requires firms to value their assets based on their current market prices, rather than at the price the firm originally paid for them.

The panels will include investors, accountants, standard setters, regulators, business leaders, and other interested parties. Additionally, representatives from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) will be present as observers.

The panel discussions will focus on: the effects of mark-to-market accounting on financial reporting by financial institutions; potential market behavior effects from mark-to-market accounting; the usefulness of mark-to-market accounting to investors and regulators; and aspects of the current accounting standards that can be improved.