Accounting Standards

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued a new standard to improve the financial reporting of repurchase agreements and other similar transactions. Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-11, Transfers and Servicing (Topic 860): Repurchase-to-Maturity Transactions, Repurchase Financings, and Disclosures, changes the accounting for repurchase-to-maturity transactions and repurchase financing arrangements.

Improved audit quality is a goal being pursued by the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and a non-partisan audit advocacy group is supporting its recent efforts.

Members of the TRG include financial statement preparers, auditors and users representing a wide spectrum of industries, geographical locations and public and private companies and organizations.

The Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) today announced the appointment of two new members to the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC).

Financial information and technology company Thomson Reuters has released a special report, An Overview of the Revised Accounting Model for Revenue Recognition, which provides useful insights for corporate management teams, shareholders, lenders, analysts, investors, regulators, and accounting firms that utilize revenue to monitor organizations' financial performance and general financial health.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has voted unanimously to approve two Exposure Drafts proposing significant improvements to financial reporting by state and local governments of other postemployment benefits (OPEB), such as retiree health insurance. The GASB also approved a third Exposure Draft that would establish requirements for pensions and pension plans that are outside the scope of the pension standards the GASB released in 2012.

The standard will improve the financial reporting of revenue and improve comparability of the top line in financial statements globally. Revenue is a vital metric for users of financial statements and is used to assess a company’s financial performance and prospects. However, the previous requirements of both IFRS and U.S. GAAP were different and often resulted in different accounting for transactions that were economically similar.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) today issued for public comment a proposed Statement addressing accounting and financial reporting issues related to fair value measurements.