Deferred Inflows of Resources and Deferred Outflows of Resources Omnibus Project

The objective of this project would be to identify, in existing authoritative literature, requirements to recognize balances that may appear to meet the definitions in Concepts Statement No. 4, Elements of Financial Statements, of deferred outflows of resources or deferred inflows of resources, and to determine whether those balances should continue to be recognized as assets or liabilities or reclassified for financial reporting purposes as deferred outflows or deferred inflows of resources, respectively.

A deferred outflow of resources is a consumption of net assets by the government that is applicable to a future reporting period.

A deferred inflow of resources is an acquisition of net assets by the government that is applicable to a future reporting period.

The following items could potentially qualify as deferred outflow or deferred inflow of resources:
Deferred revenue

Deferred revenue related to food stamps

Deferred revenues related to taxes and grant programs and advances

Loan commitment fees

Operating leases

Differences between reacquisition price and net carrying amount of old debt

Premium, discounts, and issue costs

Sale of future revenues

Capital leases-accounting for sales-type and direct financing leases by the lessor

Capital leases-accounting by the lessee for refunding by the lessor of tax-exempt debt

Sale-leaseback transactions

Cable television systems-Hookup revenue and costs

Lending activities- loan origination fees and commitment fees and costs

Results of application of the interest method to net fees or costs that are required to be recognized as yield adjustments over the life of a loan

Mortgage banking activities-loan origination fees and costs associated with loans held for resale or investment

Regulated operations-rate action of a regulator when current rates are intended to recover costs that are expected to be incurred in the future

Regulated operations-rate action of a regulator when the regulator requires that a gain or other reduction of net allowable costs be given to customers over future periods

Economic Condition Reporting: Fiscal Sustainability

The objective of this project is to consider whether guidance or guidelines should be considered for additional information as part of general purpose external financial reporting to enhance a user's ability to assess a government's economic condition. The consideration of additional information would include risks associated with a government's intergovernmental financial dependencies, which previously was a separate project in the technical plan but was deferred for consideration as part of this project.

Pension Accounting and Financial Reporting Project

The Board expects to release an exposure draft in June 2011 on pension accounting and financial reporting issues for employers and for defined benefit pension plans.

One objective of this project is to improve accountability and the transparency of financial reporting in regard to the financial effects of employers' commitments and actions related to pension benefits. This objective includes improving the information provided to help financial report users assess the degree to which interperiod equity has been achieved. The other objective of this project is to improve the usefulness of information for decisions or judgments of relevance to the various users of the general-purpose external financial reports of government employers and pension plans.

Technical Plan Project Priorities

At every March GASAC meeting, each GASAC member has the opportunity to provide individual feedback on GASB's Technical Plan by ranking projects important to him or her. Of the 42 listed projects, I ranked the following projects as high or medium priority (in random order):

Electronic Financial Reporting, Fair Value Measurement, Fiduciary Responsibilities, Financial Guarantees, Exchange-like Revenues, GAAP Hierarchy, Tax Abatement Disclosures, Reexamination-Capitalization of Interest Costs, Reexamination-Leases-NCGA 5 and Statement 13, Reexamination-Nonexchange Transactions-Statements 33 and 36, Reexamination-Reporting Model-Statement 34, 35, and 37, and Reexamination-Accounting for Prior-Period Adjustments, Accounting Changes.

GASB Issues Exposure Draft Addressing Application of Hedge Accounting Termination Provisions

The GASB issued an Exposure Draft, Derivative Instruments: Application of Hedge Accounting Termination Termination Provisions, an amendment of GASB No. 53. The ED clarifies the application requirements in Statement No. 53 which address the termination of hedge accounting.

It clarifies what constitutes a termination event for accounting and financial reporting purposes.

The need for clarity is necessary to address quesions with regard to the application of the termination provisions in Statement 53 when a counterparty or a counterparty's credit support provider of an interest rate swap or commodity swap is replaced because the original counterparty, or counterparty's credit support provider, failed to comply with the specific terms of a swap agreement.

The proposed effective date would be for financial statement periods beginning after June 15, 2011. The ED comment deadline is April 15, 2011.

GASAC - Agenda for Meeting on March 3 and 4

March 3:
Approval of October 2010 minutes

GASB Chairman's Report

GASAC member feedback on Pension Accounting and Financial Reporting Project

GASAC member feedback on Economic Condition Reporting: Fiscal Sustainability Project


March 4:
Report of the FAF

GASB member comments

GASB Director of Research and Technical Activities Report

GASAC member feedback on Deferred Inflows of Resources and Deferred Outflows of Resources Omnibus Project

GASAC member review of GASB Project Proposals and Prospectuses

GASAC member feedback on New Technical Agenda Project Priorities

Report on GASAC member discussion regarding New Technical Agenda Project Priorities

GASAC communications - member outreach efforts

Executive Committee Report