The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board published
an exposure draft (ED), Presentation of Significant Assumptions
for the Statement of Social Insurance: Amending SFFAS 25, in
March. The ED proposes requiring disclosure of significant assumptions
underlying the “statement of social insurance,” which—for federal
government entities administering a social insurance program—reports
the net present value of long-term cash-flow forecasts of taxes and
benefits relating to the Social Security, Medicare, Black Lung and
Railroad Retirement Board programs. Thus, the proposal would
reclassify significant assumptions as basic information rather than as
required supplementary information. The proposed disclosures are
intended to help financial statement users assess uncertainty in a
government entity’s long-range projections. Comments are due May 17.
Government Accounting
