Government Accounting

GASB publishes Statement no. 42, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Impairment of Capital Assets and for Insurance Recoveries, which requires governments to report in their financial statements the effects of capital asset impairment when it occurs. Events that could produce such results include physical damage, variations in legal or environmental factors, technological changes or obsolescence, alterations in the manner or duration of an asset’s use and construction stoppage. The guidance also enhances financial statements’ comparability by requiring all governments to account for insurance recoveries in the same manner ( www.gasb.org/news/nr111803.html ). The statement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15 and is available from the GASB order department at 800-748-0659 or on the Web at http://store.yahoo.com/gasbpubs/gs42.html .