The main objective of our paper is to examine whether the DB plan freeze decision
is associated with the potential impact of DB plan accounting changes on the financial
statements of DB plan sponsors. Current and proposed changes in accounting for
pensions (i.e. FRS 17 and SFAS 158) potentially introduce volatility and uncertainty
into reported information of sponsors, and it is conceivable that the recent clustering
of pension freezes by large, healthy firms has occurred in anticipation of the financial
statement effect of these changes. Our primary focus is on the potential balance sheet
effects embodied in SFAS 158. As potential income statement effects are as yet unclear,
we examine the association of current income statement recognition of DB plan
information with the pension freeze decision in our supplementary analyses.