The rule, which would force companies to deduct the cost of employee stock options from their profits, will not now come into force until next June, six months later than planned, the Financial Accounting Standards Board said.

With implementation of the rule delayed until after the US election, opponents will have a fresh opportunity to muster support from a new administration and Congress in Washington, observers said.

�gIt's all in the hands of the politicians now,�h said Bob Willens, an accounting analyst at Lehman Brothers. FASB �gwould like to have got this thing done once and for all - it's more or less outside their control now.�h

The delay amounts to the most important political calculation by the FASB in more than a decade. The independent rule-making body dropped a similar proposal on stock options in the early 1990s after opposition, raising fears about outiside political influence affecting the way the regulations are set.

The FASB's board voted for the delay by five to two on Wednesday. However, it stuck by its proposal for how the value of stock options should be calculated, in the face of strong opposition from the tech industry lobby.

�gWe continue to get a clear message from the users [of companies' accounts] that this information is needed as soon as possible,�h said Ed Trott, a FASB board member. However, companies, auditors and the Securities and Exchange Commission had all argued for a delay since new accounting rules under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act would already putting companies under a lot of pressure at the end of this year.

With a final board meeting on the subject due next week, the FASB looks likely to complete its work on option accounting and make its new rule final before the end of this year, said Mr Trott. �gThis is not an open book until next June.�h

By pushing off the implementation date, however, FASB has given opponents a fresh chance at winning backing for proposed legislation that would block the new accounting rule, observers said.

The House of Representatives has already approved the bill and a majority of senators also appear to be against the FASB rule, said Mr Willens. More than half of all senators wrote to William Donladson, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission recently to urge him to force a delay to the rule.

The bill to block FASB's new rule has been prevented from reaching the floor of the senate by Richard Shelby, chairman of the Senate banking committee. Mr Shelby has made clear that he will do whatever he can in the current legislative session to prevent political intervention in FASB's rule-making.

The accounting regulators have also had strong backing from Mr Donaldson at the SEC, who has called on Congress not to intervene and declared his personal support for the proposed rule. The FASB dropped its earlier options accounting rule in the early 1990s after a request from the SEC chairman at the time.

The chairmanship of both the Senate banking committee and the SEC could be subject to change following the US election, potentially weakening support for the FASB in Washington and adding to the chances of legislation on the issue, observers said.