provided certain criteria are met. FSP FAS 109-2 provides accounting and disclosure guidance for the repatriation provision. In the fourth quarter of fiscal 2005, we repatriated $3.1 billion of cumulative foreign earnings invested outside the United States. The additional income tax associated with this amount was $118 million.

 

Accounting Changes and Error Corrections:   On June 7, 2005, the FASB issued Statement No. 154, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections , a replacement of APB Opinion No. 20, Accounting Changes , and Statement No. 3, Reporting Accounting Changes in Interim Financial Statements . Statement 154 changes the requirements for the accounting for and reporting of a change in accounting principle. Previously, most voluntary changes in accounting principles were required recognition via a cumulative effect adjustment within net income of the period of the change. Statement 154 requires retrospective application to prior periods’ financial statements, unless it is impracticable to determine either the period-specific effects or the cumulative effect of the change. Statement 154 is effective for accounting changes made in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2005; however, the Statement does not change the transition provisions of any existing accounting pronouncements. We do not believe adoption of Statement 154 will have a material effect on our consolidated financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

 

Factors That May Affect Our Future Results or the Market Price of Our Stock

 

We operate in a rapidly changing economic and technological environment that presents numerous risks, many of which are driven by factors that we cannot control or predict. The following discussion, as well as that above of critical accounting policies and estimates, highlights some of these risks.

Economic, political and market conditions can adversely affect our revenue growth and profitability.   Our business is influenced by a range of factors that are beyond our control and that we have no comparative advantage in forecasting. These include:

 

 •	 	the overall demand for enterprise computer software and services;

 •	 	conditions in the high technology, telecommunications, financial services and manufacturing industry sectors;

 •	 	governmental budgetary constraints or shifts in government spending priorities;

 •	 	general economic and business conditions; and

 •	 	general political developments, such as the war on terrorism.

 

Recovery in the global economic environment has been modest and uneven. A general weakening of the global economy, or a curtailment in government spending, could delay and decrease customer purchases. In addition, the war on terrorism and the potential for other hostilities in various parts of the world continue to contribute to a climate of economic and political uncertainty that could adversely affect our revenue growth and results of operations. These impacts generally fall most strongly on our sales of software licenses, and to a lesser extent, also affect our renewal rates for software license updates and product support.

 

We may fail to achieve our financial forecasts due to