FASB News
FASB Adds Three New Members to Nonprofit Advisory Panel
FASB announced three new members to its Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC), the panel that informs the board on accounting developments in the nonprofit sector: John Alfonso, partner, not-for-profit and education industry leader at CohnReznick LLP in New York; Tina Dzik, partner at Cohen & Company in Cleveland, Ohio; and Christine Terhark, audit and assurance managing director at Deloitte & Touche LLP in Des Moines, Iowa, were appointed to the NAC in January, the board announced on February 1. “Their selection to this key advisory group will further enhance its robust input to the FASB on matters of importance to diverse not-for-profit organizations,” FASB Chair Richard Jones said in a welcoming statement. The NAC was established in October 2009 to work closely with FASB in an advisory capacity to ensure that perspectives from the not-for-profit sector are effectively communicated to FASB on a timely basis with regard to the development of financial accounting and reporting standards.
GASB News
Georgia’s Accounting Chief Named GASB Director of Research, Technical Activities
GASB said it appointed Georgia’s state accounting officer, Alan Skelton, to be director of research and technical activities, a leadership position in the overall management of the board’s projects and staff. Skelton will replace retiring director David Bean on April 1. Bean will leave the board on March 30 after more than 30 years in the role. Skelton has worked with the GASB for years, having served on the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC), the board’s main body of advisers since 2015 and been its vice chair since 2018. He was named to the director’s position by GASB Chair Joel Black following a national search that began last year. “I’m very pleased to welcome Alan to the GASB to serve as the director of research and technical activities,” Black said in a statement. “I have known him for many years, served with him on the GASAC, and know him to be a tremendous leader. Alan shares my passion for the GASB’s mission and brings to this role deep technical expertise and practical experience in governmental accounting and financial reporting. I’m delighted we’ll be working closely together.”
AICPA News
Increased ESG Reporting Will Have Impact in 2021
Investors have increasingly demanded environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, especially that based on standards developed by the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). This trend is likely to impact the accounting profession in 2021, according to the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. The SEC last year required public companies to include information about its workforce to the extent it is material. This means that responsibilities for ESG reporting are shifting. Sustainability and market teams usually had sole responsibility for ESG information. Now, it includes accounting and financial professionals. This comes as investors and other stakeholders want useful, reliable, and comparable metrics on sustainability. The association came up with the trends based on conversations with its members, global standards-setters, and executives at CPA firms and other organizations who lead ESG reporting and accounting efforts. “CPAs are uniquely qualified to help organizations increase stakeholder trust and confidence, this, as our members expect the need for ESG-related assurance services to increase significantly over the next three years,” Desiré Carroll, the association’s senior manager, public accounting, said in a statement on January 27. “ESG matters clearly attracted a lot of attention in 2020, and as demand for companies to report their material ESG-related matters, so too does the need for that information to be consistent, accurate and reliable.”
