GASB Issued Statement 62

GASB issued Statement 62, Codification of Accounting and Financial Reporting Guidance Contained in Pre-November 30, 1989 FASB and AICPA Pronouncements. This statement is intended to enhance the usefulness of its Codification by incorporating guidance that previously could only be found in certain FASB and AICPA pronouncements.

The Statement incorporates into the GASB's authoritative literature the applicable guidance previously presented in the following pronouncements issued before November 30, 1989.

• FASB Statements and Interpretations
• Accounting Principles Board Opinions
• Accounting Research Bulletins of the AICPA's Committee on Accounting Procedure

By incorporating and maintaining this guidance in a single source, the Statement reduces the complexity of locating and using authoritative literature needed to prepare state and local government financial reports. It improves financial reporting by eliminating the need for financial statement preparers and auditors to determine which FASB and AICPA pronouncement provisions apply to state and local governments, thereby resulting in a more consistent application of relevant guidance in financial statements of state and local governments. Finally, it contributes to the GASB's efforts to codify all sources of GAAP for state and local governments so that they can be found within a single source.

The requirements of Statement 62 are effective for financial statement periods beginning after December 15, 2011.

Comments on New Statement

GASB issued an Exposure Draft on November 24 for Financial Reporting for Deferred Outflows of Resources, Deferred Inflows of Resources, and Net Position. The deadline to submit comments is February 25, 2011.

The ED proposes reporting requirements for deferred outflows of resources, deferred inflows of resources and net position.

A copy of the ED can be downloaded from the GASB website, http://www.gasb.org/.

GASB Updates Reporting Entity Standards

The GASB issued statement No. 61 - the Financial Reporting Entity: Omnibus. The statement is designed to improve financial reporting for governmental entities by amending the requirements of Statements No. 14 and No. 34 to better meet user needs and address reporting entity issues that have come to light since those statements were issued in 1991 and 1999, respectively.

The statement will improve the information presented about the financial reporting entity, which is comprised of a primary government and related entities (component units). The amendments to the criteria for including component units allow users of financial statements to better assess the accountability of elected officials of the primary government by ensuring that the financial reporting entity includes only organizations for which the elected officials are financially accountable or that the government determines would be misleading to excldue.

The criteria for blending is also amended. The amendments to the criteria for blending will help ensure that the primary government includes only those component units that are so interwined with the primary government that they are essentially the same as the primary government, and will clarify which component units have that characteristic.

GASB Issues Statement No. 60

Norwalk, CT - December 16, 2010 - The GASB issued statement 60, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Service Concession Arrangements. It addresses how to account for and report service concession arrangements (SCAs), a type of public-private or public-public partnership that state and local governments are increasingly entering into.

The Statement provides guidance on whether the transferor or the operator should report the capital asset in its financial statements, when to recognize up-front payments from an operator as revenue, and how to record any obligations of the transferor to the operator.

The requirements for Statement 60 are effective for financial statements for periods beginning after December 15, 2011.