FASB News
Staff Propose Data Quality Committee Rules, Other Updates to GAAP Taxonomy
FASB’s taxonomy staff has issued a proposal that would incorporate seven additional data quality rules that were developed by the XBRL US Data Quality Committee (DQC) into the U.S. GAAP Taxonomy. The proposal would also update a data quality rule related to negative values that was added in 2020. The package was proposed as “2a 023 DQC Rules Taxonomy” (DQCRT). Since 2020, the DQCRT has been included as part of the U.S. GAAP Reporting Taxonomy (GRT) with the goal of helping filers improve data quality with validation feedback that assists with the appropriate use of the GRT. Data quality rules, for example, have built-in validation checks that provide warnings if a negative value is used where there should be a positive value, or if certain elements should not be used together. Comments on this proposal are due by October 6.
Roundtable on Intangibles Planned
FASB Technical Director Hillary Salo said that the board plans to hold a public roundtable on accounting for intangible assets, a major topic that it is studying under its research agenda. A roundtable “would provide an opportunity for our stakeholders and for the board to further explore the research that has been performed to date,” Salo said. Accounting for, and disclosure of, intangibles was added to the board’s research agenda months ago to determine whether and how accounting guidance should be developed. The research agenda is the preliminary step before a topic reaches the board’s technical rulemaking agenda. No specific date or time frame has been set for the roundtable as yet, a FASB spokesperson told Thomson Reuters. Intangibles is a tricky topic for the board because it spans a vast range of items, including internally generated intangibles for: software, website development costs, airlines, broadcasters, cable television, oil and gas, title plant, regulated operations, contracts with customers, start-up costs, business and technology re-engineering, film costs, and music. A project could require the board to streamline several areas of U.S. GAAP that provide accounting guidance for intangible assets, according to an analysis of board meeting papers. The initial accounting requirements depend upon whether they are internally generated or acquired. There is also specific guidance for costs related to R&D, software, and certain internally generated intangible assets.
IASB News
Key Advisers to ESG Rulemaker Hail from United Nations, World Bank
The IFRS Foundation said on September 6 that it seated the Sustainability Consultative Committee (SCC), a key advisory panel to the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in its development of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) disclosure rules. The first meeting will take place on September 15. The SCC was formed of four permanent multilateral member organizations: the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the United Nations, and the World Bank. Seven additional members have also been appointed. The panel’s goal is “to identify, inform and advise the ISSB on priority sustainability matters and related technical protocols, as well as significant interdependencies between sustainability matters,” the trustee foundation said. The SCC will provide “a consultative and advisory forum where members can constructively contribute towards the achievement of the ISSB’s goal of developing globally accepted, high-quality sustainability disclosure standards.” ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber and ISSB Vice-Chair Jingdong Hua, who starts his term in October, will share the responsibilities of Chair of the SCC. SCC members will serve for an initial term of three years, which may be renewed once, under review, depending upon the need to maintain a proper balance and for continuity, the announcement states. A maximum period of service of six years is permitted for any single individual.
