FASB News
Lease Standard’s Technical Corrections Head to Final Status
FASB has approved a slate of minor technical corrections to the lease accounting standard that the accounting board characterized as largely editorial in nature. The corrections include changes to the cross references in the standard and an alignment of the standard’s terminology with other parts of U.S. GAAP. The amendments also clarify the guidance for classifying a lease when its contractual terms or conditions are modified. Financial reporting professionals raised no serious objects to the draft released for public comment.
IASB News
Guidance for Management-Defined Performance Measurement Takes Shape
The IASB is several steps closer to developing a requirement that companies present a subtotal in their financial statements to capture how businesses assess their operating performance. On January 24, the board refined its working definition of a so-called “management performance measure”; members agreed that such a measure should, at a minimum, be something that a business communicates in its annual report. The idea is to encourage firms to provide key performance measurements in the financial statements, where they would be subject to greater transparency and review by auditors, instead of press releases or annual reports that are not subject to an independent audit. “What we’re looking to do is be very much based upon information included within the statement of financial performance, ” said IASB Associate Staff Director Rachel Knubley.
PCAOB News
Former Chair William McDonough Passes Away
Former PCAOB Chairman William McDonough died on January 22, 2018, at his home in Waccabuc, New York. He was 83. McDonough was the first chairman of the PCAOB and served from 2003 to 2005. Under McDonough, the PCAOB set up its systems for registering and inspecting public accounting firms and issued its first rules. “We mourn the loss of William J. McDonough,” the PCAOB said in a statement. “Under his leadership, the board established its regulatory approach and programs and forged the international relationships that have led to PCAOB inspections in 50 countries today and helped spread independent audit oversight around the globe. He was a strong leader whose intellect, stature, and unwavering commitment to principle helped establish the credibility of the organization, both domestically and internationally. His strong belief in investor protection and public service is still with us today as we carry out the mission of the PCAOB.”
