FASB News
Online Forum for CPE Providers Scheduled
FASB will hold an online forum on October 12 that is designed to help companies and professionals who offer continuing professional education (CPE) understand and implement new accounting rules and other reporting issues. Topics to be discussed include current reporting issues, especially COVID-19–related matters, according to a September 3 board alert. Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, Topic 842, Leases, Topic 326, Credit Losses, and select ongoing projects will also be discussed. “The biannual FASB CPE provider forums are designed to help professional accounting CPE providers develop courses that help private companies, not-for-profit organizations, and other stakeholders understand and implement new accounting standards,” Jones said in a statement. “We’re pleased to offer this service so that CPE providers can bring their clients the most up-to-date information on FASB activities.” Participants must register in advance and can submit questions to the panel, the board announcement states.
IASB News
Forum for National Standards-Setters to Meet Virtually
The IASB’s Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) will hold virtual discussions on October 2 that include the FASB’s recent conceptual framework proposal, according to an agenda posted by the IFRS Foundation. The conceptual framework is a non-authoritative guide that FASB uses to develop U.S. GAAP. FASB representatives will provide the forum with an overview of Proposed Statement of Financial Reporting Concepts 2020-500, Concepts Statement 8, Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting Chapter 4: Elements of Financial Statements. It was issued in July 2020 with a November 13 comment deadline. The proposal defines 10 elements of financial statements—assets, liabilities, equity (net assets), revenues, expenses, gains, losses, investments by owners, distributions to owners, and comprehensive income—to be applied in developing standards for both businesses and not-for-profit organizations.
PCAOB News
Audit Evidence Added to Research Agenda
The PCAOB has added audit evidence to its research agenda. Not all research projects end up being elevated to the standards-setting agenda. But the staff will “consider whether standard-setting or staff guidance is needed, given (1) the increasing prevalence of technology-based tools and (2) use of information from sources external to the company, both in the financial reporting process and as audit evidence,” the PCAOB stated in an update to its agenda on September 8. “The staff is obtaining and analyzing information to develop a recommendation.” The board is reviewing Auditing Standard (AS) 1105, Audit Evidence, which explains what constitutes audit evidence. The standard also has requirements when auditors design and perform audit procedures to obtain sufficient appropriate evidence to back up their conclusions when reviewing their clients’ financial statements. In explaining why the project was added on the board’s research agenda, the update said that advances in technology and the increased use of external data is affecting the nature, timing, preparation, and use of financial information. This, in turn, is affecting the nature and extent of information available to auditors, according to the PCAOB.
