FASAB’s Accounting and Auditing Policy Committee (AAPC) issued Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Technical Release (TR) 12, Accrual Estimates for Grant Programs, guidance that the board says provides a cost-effective framework for developing reasonable estimates of accrued grant liabilities. TR 12 applies to grants that are paid by a federal
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Accounting & reporting
Highlights
Unlike their discussion paper, Leases: Preliminary Views (available at tinyurl.com/lugqe2), published in March 2009, which focused primarily on lessee accounting, the exposure draft, Leases, would result in changes on both sides of a lease transaction. The proposal includes simplified accounting for short-term leases—leases having a maximum term of 12 months
Shaping the Future
Paul Stahlin is acutely aware that his term as AICPA chairman appears to be on course to intersect with a series of major changes for the profession. The year ahead holds the potential for a shift to different accounting standards for private companies. FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board
Financial Reporting
FASB issued a Proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that is intended to clarify how defined contribution pension plans should classify and measure loans to participants. Under the Proposed ASU, Plan Accounting—Defined Contribution Pension Plans (Topic 962), Reporting Loans to Participants by Defined Contribution Pension Plans (a consensus of the
International
The IFRS Interpretations Committee, the interpretative body of the IASB, published proposed guidance on the accounting for stripping costs in the production phase of a surface mine. The committee was asked to consider how to account for the process of removing waste from a surface mine in order to
SEC Releases Update on IFRS Plan
In a progress report released Friday, the SEC staff details its progress thus far and remaining research and analysis to be done as the commission considers whether, when and how to allow domestic issuers in the U.S. to use IFRS. The SEC staff’s first update draws no major conclusions. It
IASB’s Additions to IFRS 9 Address “Own Credit” Problem
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on Thursday issued requirements on the accounting for financial liabilities that address the problem of volatility in profit and loss (P&L) arising when an issuer measures its own debt at fair value—often referred to as the “own credit” problem. According to a news release,
FASB Seeking Input on the Costs of Convergence
FASB issued a discussion paper to gather input from stakeholders about the time and effort that will be involved in adapting to several anticipated new accounting and reporting standards and when those standards, which are part of the FASB and International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) convergence projects, should be effective.
Expediency at Heart of Panel’s Recommendations on Private Company Reporting
Asked why the panel on private company financial reporting appears to be favoring a separate standards board making modifications to existing U.S. GAAP (as compared to writing new standards)several members of the panel pointed to a simple factor – time. “How we got to where we got to as
AICPA to SEC: Companies Will Need as Much as Five Years to Ready for IFRS Adoption
Giving companies enough time to carefully prepare for a move from U.S. GAAP to IFRS is critical, the AICPA told the SEC in a comment letter filed Thursday. The AICPA assembled members from business and industry with public company backgrounds to discuss questions the SEC posed in a recent request
FASB Seeks Greater Transparency, Consistency for Troubled Debt Restructurings
FASB issued an exposure draft Tuesday that contains clarifying guidance intended to improve consistency and transparency in financial reporting about troubled debt restructurings. “Investors, regulators and practitioners asked the board to clarify what types of loan modifications should be considered troubled debt restructurings for accounting and disclosure purposes,” FASB’s Acting
Dutch Official to Succeed Tweedie at IASB
Hans Hoogervorst will become the next chairman of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation, the IASB’s oversight body, named Hoogervorst as the successor to Sir David Tweedie, who will retire as chairman of the IASB at the end of June 2011. The trustees announced
Panel Majority Signals Support for Separate Board, U.S. GAAP Exceptions for Private Companies
The blue ribbon panel on private company financial reporting is heading down a path to recommend that the Financial Accounting Foundation, FASB’s parent organization, accept U.S. GAAP with exceptions for private companies and that those standards should be set not by FASB but by a separate board under FAF’s oversight.
Panel May Recommend Alternative Models for Private Company GAAP Friday
A blue-ribbon panel will meet Friday at the AICPA’s New York office to possibly recommend alternative models and structures related to GAAP standard setting for private companies. The panel will receive a brief overview of the more than 140 public comments FASB received in response to a series of questions
CAQ Outlines Plan to Mitigate Fraud, Announces Partnerships
The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) on Wednesday published a report that outlines the organization’s long-term agenda to combat financial reporting fraud. The report, Deterring and Detecting Financial Reporting Fraud—A Platform for Action, identifies three areas of focus: a strong, highly ethical tone at the top that permeates the corporate
AICPA Expresses Concerns on FASB Financial Instruments Proposal
The AICPA’s Financial Reporting Executive Committee (FinREC) on Thursday said it was concerned about the fair value measurement and impairment models along with other provisions of FASB’s comprehensive proposal to revamp financial instruments accounting. FinREC (formerly the Accounting Standards Executive Committee) said that while it shares the board’s desire
Government
GASB issued its Suggested Guidelines for Voluntary Reporting, SEA Performance Information. The purpose of this document is to provide state and local governments with suggested guidelines intended to provide a common framework for the effective external communication of service efforts and accomplishments (SEA) information. GASB said the reporting of
Highlights
Along with the leadership change, FAF announced that FASB is reverting from its current five-member board makeup to seven members. FASB previously operated with seven board members from its inception in 1973 until 2008. The changes come at a time when FASB and its international counterpart, the International Accounting Standards
Financial Reporting
FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) no. 2010-20, Disclosures about the Credit Quality of Financing Receivables and the Allowance for Credit Losses, which FASB said in a press release will improve transparency in financial reporting by public and nonpublic companies that hold financing receivables, which include loans, lease receivables
International
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published for public comment an exposure draft of improvements to the accounting for insurance contracts. The ED proposes a single IFRS that all insurers, in all jurisdictions, could apply consistently to all contract types. When the IASB was established in 2001, there were no
Features
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