GASB

GASB said the delay comes in response to a number of requests because of the coronavirus pandemic, with some finance officers asking for up to an extra two years.

GASB is considering postponing the effective dates of eight statements and five implementation guides.

GASB will release on April 16 a list of delays to various initiatives because of the coronavirus pandemic.

GASB Statement 92 covers 8 new standards for GAAP accounting in Omnibus 2020

Members of GFOA’s Debt Committee agreed Monday to form a working committee that will publicize the issues involved in the transition among the organization’s more than 21,000 members.

The Financial Accounting Foundation stirred controversy among public finance groups earlier this month when it indicated the next GASB chairman will not have government service as part of his background.

The Financial Accounting Foundation abandoned its tradition of selecting a state auditor to chair the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

GASB’s final guidance on the Replacement of Interbank Offered Rates is expected to be issued in March, giving state and municipal governments plenty of time to make adjustments before Libor is phased out by the end of 2021.

Implementation Guidance 2020 covers leases, fiduciary activities, asset retirement obligations, conduit debt obligations and amendment to parts of implementation guides issued in 2015 and 2017.

In formal comments filed with the federal government and separately to GASB, municipal finance groups have given the regulators generally high marks.

The proposed transition regulation addresses the possibility that such a modification of a debt instrument, derivative, or other financial contract could be a taxable transaction for federal income tax purposes or could result in other tax consequences.

The exposure draft, Replacement of Interbank Offered Rates, proposes removal of all inter-bank offered rates as an appropriate benchmark interest rate effective for reporting periods beginning after Dec. 15, 2020.

GASB is taking action because changing the reference rate on the hedge is ordinarily considered a termination event.

The revision gives local governments an extra nine months to make changes under a new rule involving the treatment of leases.

State and local governments and trade groups have until Sept. 13 to submit comments on the 48-page exposure draft GASB released June 13.

GASB Statement 91 calls for conduit issuers to stop reporting conduit debt in their financial statements and to report all of it in their accompanying notes starting Dec. 15, 2020.

Timely and complete accounting and financial reporting are as critical to municipal professionals as is disclosure, according to Jeffrey Previdi, GASB vice chairman. Long-standing standards and practices are being brought up-to-date to remain compatible with today's rapid-paced changes. John Hallacy hosts.

The dollar value of net pension liabilities rose in 43 states while the dollar value of outstanding tax-supported debt rose in 17 states, the report said.

The new GASB standards apply to Other Post-Employment Benefits, or OPEB, which mostly pertain to retiree health benefits, but also can include dental, vision, disability and death benefits.

GASB is accepting comments through Nov. 2 on its proposal to clarify the definition of a conduit debt obligation.