GE’s global technical controller said a new standard on revenue is close enough to reality that he is instructing business managers to keep the likely new regulations in mind as they draw up contracts. “To the extent you’re entering into five-, 10-, 15-year contracts today, you really need to think
Advertisement
TOPICS / ACCOUNTING & REPORTING
FASB financial accounting & reporting
FASB, IASB Chiefs Agree New Convergence Model Is Needed
The heads of the U.S. and international accounting boards that have been working to resolve standards differences agree that their current convergence process should be replaced by one that is more manageable and effective. FASB Chair Leslie Seidman said Tuesday at the AICPA National Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB
News Highlights for December 2011
FASB issued Accounting Standards Update no. 2011-09, Compensation—Retirement Benefits—Multiemployer Plans (Subtopic 715-80): Disclosures about an Employer’s Participation in a Multiemployer Plan, which requires employers to provide more information about their financial obligations to multiemployer pension plans. Employers commonly use multiemployer pension plans to provide benefits to union employees who may
SEC Staff Reports Assess IFRS
The SEC staff on Wednesday released reports analyzing the current reporting practices of companies using IFRS and comparing U.S. GAAP and IFRS requirements in specific areas. The first report, An Analysis of IFRS in Practice, is a 65-page joint effort by the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance and Office of
Revised Revenue Recognition Proposal Unveiled
FASB on Monday released a revised exposure draft on the financial reporting requirements for recognizing revenue from contracts with customers. The proposed standard, which was released for public comment jointly with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), makes a number of changes to a joint ED issued in June 2010
FASB Agenda Projects to Focus on Issues Unique to Nonprofits
FASB said Wednesday it added two agenda projects—a standard-setting project and a research project—intended to improve financial reporting of nonprofit organizations. The objectives of these projects encompass suggestions from FASB’s Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC) at that panel’s September 2011 meeting. The NAC recommended action in these areas after its September
FASB Mulls Changes to Financial Reporting for Consolidations
FASB issued a Proposed Accounting Standards Update (ASU) it said is intended to increase transparency and consistency of financial reporting about consolidations. The proposed amendments would affect all companies required to evaluate whether they should consolidate another entity, according to a FASB press release. But the changes are expected to most
FAF Rejects Independent Standard Setter for Private Companies
The AICPA has expressed profound disappointment with a Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) proposal on private company accounting standard setting and is urging CPAs and others to weigh in on the debate. The FAF proposal released in October (available at tinyurl.com/3stvppq) would create a Private Company Standards Improvement Council (PCSIC) to
Financial Reporting
The AICPA recommended to the SEC that U.S. public companies be allowed the option of adopting use of IFRS as the commission weighs a possible future framework for incorporating IFRS into the U.S. financial reporting system. The SEC requested the comments when it issued its staff paper, Work Plan
FASB Proposes Fair Value for Investment Properties
FASB on Friday issued two Proposed Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs), one that the board said would improve and converge financial reporting by setting forth consistent criteria for determining whether an entity is an investment company and a second that would require an entity that meets certain criteria to measure its
AICPA Turns Up Volume on Call for Independent Board
The AICPA governing Council approved a resolution on Tuesday to voice its significant concerns about a Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) proposal released Oct. 4 that rejected a blue-ribbon panel’s recommendation for a separate board to set private company GAAP. The Blue-Ribbon Panel on Standard Setting for Private Companies was a
GASB Proposes Resolution to “Conflicting Guidance”
GASB on Monday issued an exposure draft, Technical Corrections—an amendment of GASB Statements No. 10 and No. 62, that it said would resolve “conflicting guidance” that resulted from the issuance of two recent pronouncements. The pronouncements are Statement no. 54, Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions, and Statement
IFRS Resources
With FASB and the IASB fast approaching their June 2011 completion deadline for major convergence projects, the CPA profession is poised to assimilate—at unprecedented speed—an array of profound changes to GAAP. As public companies watch the SEC for guidance on IFRS adoption, private companies have begun to examine whether the
Financial Reporting
FASB completed redeliberations on a revised accounting standard it said will provide more information about an employer’s financial obligations to multiemployer pension plans. Previously, employers were required to disclose only their total contributions to all multiemployer plans in which they participate. FASB said it expected that the final Accounting
FASB Panel Recommends Areas of Improvement in Standards for Nonprofits
The NAC heard feedback from three working groups that formed recommendations for FASB to add to its standard-setting agenda. FASB has not yet considered the recommendations. The NAC created the working groups earlier this year (see previous JofA coverage, “FASB Not-for-Profit Panel’s Subgroups to Study Possible Improvements”). The NAC charged
FASB Standard Broadens Disclosures on Multiemployer Pensions
FASB issued Accounting Standards Update no. 2011-09, Compensation—Retirement Benefits—Multiemployer Plans (Subtopic 715-80): Disclosures about an Employer’s Participation in a Multiemployer Plan. The ASU requires employers to provide more information about their financial obligations to multiemployer pension plans. Multiemployer pension plans commonly are used by an employer to provide benefits to
FASB Issues Update to Simplify Goodwill Impairment Testing
FASB on Thursday issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) no. 2011-08, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment, that the board said simplifies how public and nonpublic entities test goodwill for impairment. The amendments permit an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely
FASB Issues Proposed 2012 GAAP Taxonomy for XBRL
FASB on Thursday released the proposed 2012 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy for public review and comment. Comments are due Oct. 31. The 2012 U.S. GAAP Financial Reporting Taxonomy is expected to be finalized and published in early 2012. The taxonomy is a list of computer-readable financial reporting labels coded
Financial Reporting
The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued an amended version of IAS 19, Employee Benefits, that the board said completes its project to improve the accounting for pensions and other postemployment benefits and further aligns IFRS and U.S. GAAP by eliminating the so-called “corridor method.” The IASB said the
FASB Standard Simplifies Testing Goodwill for Impairment
FASB on Wednesday approved a revised accounting standard that the board said simplifies how an entity tests goodwill for impairment. The amendments will allow an entity to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the two-step quantitative goodwill impairment test. An entity no longer will
Features
FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE
Building a better CPA firm: Stepping up service offerings
A key step in business model modernization is determining how to implement services that satisfy clients and employees.
From The Tax Adviser
August 30, 2025
2025 tax software survey
July 31, 2025
