As we dive into the warmth of June and the start of summer, the standard setters have been very busy! The AICPA has issued an updated practice aid, key exposure drafts on ethics, and a new Technical Question and Answer. Additionally, the FASB and GASB have had meetings on critical accounting topics.
This month, the AICPA released an updated practice aid on the accounting and auditing of digital assets, offering new guidance on their valuation and auditing procedures regarding existence, rights, and obligations. Key updates were made to Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 of the practice aid, and an updated Appendix B includes some additional Q&A items.
Additionally, the AICPA’s Professional Ethics Executive Committee (PEEC) released exposure drafts on recruiting and tax services for public comment, with feedback due by September 20 via email. The proposed revisions to the “Executive or Employee Recruiting” interpretation aim to address potential threats to independence when members perform recruiting services for attest clients. Revisions to the “Tax Services” interpretation address independence threats when providing tax advisory and planning services to attest clients.
The AICPA also issued a new Technical Question and Answer (TQA) providing nonauthoritative guidance on audit and reporting implications related to a new related-party disclosure requirement for institutions of higher education. TQA Section 6960.13, “Related Party Disclosure Requirements Issued by the U.S. Department of Education for Institutions of Higher Education,” addresses the requirement for these institutions to disclose related-party transactions in their financial statements, based on FASB ASC Topic 850 and additional identifying information for the Department of Education.
In June, the GASB discussed disclosure requirements for liens and liabilities associated with capital assets held for sale in financial statement notes. Further meetings are scheduled throughout July.
While the FASB did not issue new standards this month, it conducted several meetings in June to discuss significant topics, including the disaggregation of income statement expenses, accounting for and disclosure of software costs, share-based consideration payable to a customer, environmental credit programs, government grants, and improvements to Topic 815 on hedge accounting. Stay tuned for updates on these items next month!
The PCC added 4 projects to its agenda. Some may be a surprise – simplified CECL, debt modifications, conditional repayments and overbillings, and simplifications of lease accounting. They are looking to get stakeholder feedback from private entities over the next few weeks!
As of today, we have only two ASUs in 2024. How many do you think we will see issued before the end of the year?
