FASB News
Webcast on New Accounting for Gifts-in-Kind Announced
Accountants and others that work with charities and other not-for-profit organizations can now register for a FASB webcast about a new standard related to gifts-in-kind contributions. The webcast, IN FOCUS: FASB’s New Standard on the Presentation and Disclosures by Not-For-Profit Organizations for Contributed Nonfinancial Assets (Gifts-in-Kind), will be held on June 3 from 1:00 to 2:15 PM and offer up to 1.5 hours of continuing professional education (CPE) credit for those who attend the live-streamed version. The program will feature FASB Member Susan Cosper; FASB Assistant Director–Nonpublic Entities Jeff Mechanick; FASB Supervising Project Manager Elizabeth Gagnon; and FASB Postgraduate Technical Assistants Rachel Daniel and Steven Whitman. Areas of discussion will include an overview of the presentation and disclosure requirements and illustrations, the effective date, the transition rules, and implementation resources. Panelists will also address fair value measurement of gifts-in-kind and the scope of the guidance. Participants will be able to submit questions.
Examples on ESG Reporting Matters Included in FASB Staff Paper
FASB published a staff paper in March about how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters intersect with current accounting standards, a board spokesperson stated on May 4. The paper provides examples of how to consider the effects of material ESG matters when applying accounting standards, similar to how an entity would consider other changes in its business and operating environment that have a material direct or indirect effect on its financial statements. ESG reporting is an area of growing interest for a wide range of investors, credit rating agencies, lenders, accountants, regulators, and policy makers, among others. It includes a broad spectrum of quantitative and qualitative information. Most observers who are focused on the topic seek to understand the effects of relevant ESG matters on a company’s business strategy, cash flows, financial position, and financial performance, the paper explains. In other cases, “parties seek that information from a public policy perspective or to influence corporate behavior.”
AICPA News
Board to Consider Finalizing Proposed Guidance on Auditors’ Use of Specialists
The AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board (ASB) is planning to vote on finalizing a proposal that would give more guidance to auditors on the use of specialists for complex estimates, including fair value instruments, during a meeting scheduled for May 11–13. This comes on the heels of last November’s issuance of an exposure draft that would amend SAS 122, AU-C Section 501, Audit-Evidence–Specific Considerations for Selected Items, AU-C Section 620, Using the Work of an Auditor’s Specialist, and SAS 143, Auditing Accounting Estimates and Related Disclosures. The proposed SAS addresses comments received on the exposure draft that resulted in the July 2020 publication of SAS 143, which superseded SAS 122, AU-C Section 540, Auditing Accounting Estimates, Including Fair Value Accounting Estimates, and Related Disclosures. This revised standard is intended to improve audits of accounting estimates and encourage auditors to exercise professional skepticism. According to a discussion paper prepared ahead of the ASB’s meeting next week, the board has gotten 19 comment letters, including from all of the Big Four as well as some second-tier firms. All of the letters expressed support for the project.
