Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk
President Biden has issued an executive order requiring federal agencies to look at financial risk related to climate change including potentially requiring public entities to disclose certain items. ESG disclosures are a growing area for disclosures and entities like the SASB and GRI have been providing best practices.
QM Proposal Comment Period Extended
The AICPA has extended the comment period for the trio of Quality Management proposals from June 11, 2021 to August 31, 2021; likely due to the extended tax season and lots of other exciting happenings. They have also provided a few glossary documents that provide executive summaries about the proposals and a sample comment letter template for those who may not be comfortable with writing feedback from scratch. They are also hosting a series of round tables in May and June that are open to the public that will feature a summary of the proposed statements followed by a live Q&A. Each roundtable will offer up to 1.5 hours of CPE and be limited to no more than 50 participants.
IESBA Ethics Changes
The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants® (IESBA®) has issued two new ethics standards. The first addresses fee-related prohibitions. Firms may not permit the audit fee to be influenced by the provision of services other than the audit to the audit client. In addition, they revised the non-assurance services rules to clarify the circumstances in which firms may provide nonassurance services to an audit or assurance client.
Yellow Book Technical Update
GAO has issued a technical update to Yellow Book. In a very rare move, GAO has made modifications to a handful of paragraphs in the 2018 Yellow Book. The updates address the concept of equity, SKE for nonaudit services and changes to evaluation of internal controls for performance audits. Updates were effective upon issuance.
Renaming the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
The GASB has issued an exposure draft to amend the name of the comprehensive annual financial report to the Annual Comprehensive Financial Report. The current spoken acronym is offensive in some cultures and reordering the terms will alleviate unintended insults. There are no changes to the contents or use of the report, just the title. Comments are due July 9, 2021.
IFR4NPO
Todays blog looks at a movement to develop internationally applicable financial reporting guidance for non-profit organizations. IFR4NPO has issued a consultation. This blog looks at Part 1 of the proposal which includes scope and overall conceptual framework to be used in the development of this international standard. Comments on Part 1 are due by July 30, 2021.
Q1 2021 in Review
The first quarter of 2021 is a wrap. It was a light quarter for standard setting and given everything else we have going on, that’s probably not a bad thing! This blog covers the few standards that were finalized in Q1.
GASB Proposal: Compensated Absences
GASB has issued a proposal to address diversity in practice as well as common deficiencies related to reporting compensated absences. The proposal addresses PTO and sabbaticals as well as provides a single method of accounting for leave. The proposal includes the use of FIFO to account for the amount due in one year as well as a provides guidance on using the current pay rate for recognition of the liability. Comments are due June 4th.
Disclaimer: The information contained within this blog is provided for informational purposes only. Viewing this material does not qualify for CPE credit. Additionally, this general knowledge is not intended to substitute for obtaining accounting, legal, or financial advice from a professional accountant with specific knowledge of your organization. Finally, watching this blog and/or subscribing to the newsletter do not create an accountant-client relationship.
