FASB assessing efficiency, effectiveness of GAAP taxonomy

FASB is considering making changes to the U.S. GAAP financial reporting taxonomy that would be intended to improve the taxonomy’s usability and the processes that support taxonomy-related activities.

The GAAP taxonomy is a list of computer-readable tags in XBRL that enables companies to tag the financial data in financial statements to allow financial statement users to easily search for data.

In Invitation to Comment, U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy: Efficiency and Effectiveness Review, issued Wednesday, FASB asks stakeholders for feedback on potential changes to the GAAP taxonomy and the processes that support it. Comments can be made by June 15 at FASB’s website.

FASB’s staff is responsible for the development and maintenance of the GAAP taxonomy, which is applicable to public issuers registered with the SEC. The taxonomy is updated each year to reflect changes resulting from new standards and other enhancements.

In the Invitation to Comment, potential improvements to increase the usability of the GAAP Taxonomy are analyzed from the aspects of:

• Design of the taxonomy.

• GAAP taxonomy reference to the FASB Accounting Standards Codification.

• Implementation resources supporting registrant use of the taxonomy.

Potential changes to the taxonomy’s development and maintenance process are also discussed in the document.

—Ken Tysiac (Kenneth.Tysiac@aicpa-cima.com) is a JofA editorial director.