11.   Now it will decide what changes need to be made in the other form of merger accounting, called purchase accounting.

12.   Purchase accounting is tough on high-tech companies, which typically have relatively few hard assets.

13.   Purchase accounting requires the buyer to add goodwill, an intangible accounting item that must be subtracted over time from earnings.

14.   Purchase accounting can make big deals hard to pull off, especially for companies like Lucent with relatively conservative shareholders who resist dilutions of earnings.

15.   Purchase accounting would let Ahmanson repurchase more stock, a popular tactic to use excess capital and raise per-share earnings.

16.   The alternative method is known as purchase accounting.

17.   The other method of merger accounting is purchase accounting, which Wells is using.

18.   The SEC said the bank can use the pooling-of-interests accounting method, rather than purchase accounting.

19.   The SEC rule could force more companies who merge to use an accounting method, called purchase accounting, where one company merges with another paying stock or cash.

20.   The rule makers say they are concerned that merging companies can create different financial statements simply by choosing pooling over the alternative method, known as purchase accounting.