GASB publishes authoritative implementation guidance

GASB published its authoritative implementation guide Thursday, culminating a process that brought changes resulting from a yearlong feedback process on previously issued implementation guidance.

Implementation Guide No. 2015-1 provides comprehensive, authoritative implementation guidance that has been cleared by the board for state and local governments.

The feedback process on implementation guidance was conducted in conjunction with the due process that led up to the issuance of GASB Statement No. 76, The Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for State and Local Governments.

Statement No. 76 reduces the hierarchy for state and local governments to two categories of authoritative GAAP:

• The first category consists of GASB statements of governmental accounting standards.
• The second category includes GASB implementation guides, GASB technical bulletins, and guidance from the AICPA that is cleared by GASB.

In the future, all new GASB implementation guidance will be exposed for public comment. The requirements of the new implementation guide are effective for reporting periods beginning after June 15, 2015.

GASB will make the guide available for free downloaded at its website.

—Ken Tysiac (ktysiac@aicpa.org) is a JofA editorial director.