Blue-Ribbon Panel to Air Alternative Models for Private Company Financial Reporting

A blue-ribbon panel will meet Monday in Chicago to discuss possible alternative models and structures related to GAAP standard setting for private companies.

This is the third meeting of the 18-member panel, which was announced in December 2009 and is tasked with providing recommendations by the end of the year on the future of U.S. accounting standards for private companies.

The panel is part of a joint effort by the AICPA, the Financial Accounting Foundation, FASB’s parent organization, and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy

The public portion of Monday’s meeting will take place from 8:40 a.m. to 4 p.m. Central and will be accessible via live audio stream that will be available starting roughly 15 minutes before the meeting.

The 18 panel members, including AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, and participating observers represent a cross section of financial reporting constituencies, including lenders, investors and owners, as well as preparers, auditors and regulators. It is chaired by Rick Anderson, CEO of Moss Adams LLP.

At Monday’s meeting, each of the panel members and participating observers will provide their tentative views on the different models identified by panel staff.They will have two to three minutes each to answer the following questions:

• Which model (or combination of models) is preferable and why?
• What structural changes, if any, would be needed to achieve the preferred model(s) and why?

After that, the panel will discuss overarching issues on the models, including the following questions:

• Should there be scope limitations regarding the panel’s recommendation?
• Should private companies with some form of public accountability or over certain size be excluded?
• In connection with the panel’s recommendation of a specific model(s), should the panel also recommend whether to limit the number of other possible GAAPs for private companies?

A copy of the full agenda is available here.

The JofA will cover the meeting via its Twitter handle, AICPA_JofA, with hashtag #brp. Visit journalofaccountancy.com for complete coverage following the meeting.

The panel’s fourth meeting will take place Oct. 8 in the AICPA’s New York office.