May 2018

Absorbing a Decade's Worth of Accounting Change All At Once

May 30, 2018

On May 30, 2018, the Financial Executives International (FEI) posted a Q&A with Scott Taub, Managing Director of Financial Reporting Advisors, where he gives updates on revenue recognition, the leases standard, tax reform, and more ahead of FEI’s 2018 Accounting Change for Finance Leaders conference in Chicago.

The topics covered include:

  • What are the biggest challenges facing the preparer community?
  • When it comes to revenue recognition, what lessons can be learned from year-end public companies?
  • How significant is the impact of adoption?
  • Do you think the new standard is actually better than what we had in place?
  • Moving to the leases standard, where should calendar year-end pubic companies be in the process of their adoption?
  • What about private companies?
  • How impactful was this change on ICFR (internal control over financial reporting)?
  • What about tax reform? How have companies handled the guidance put out by both the SEC and the FASB?
  • What advice do you have as they continue to assess the impact throughout the year?
  • What do you tell companies you work with about the PCAOB's auditor's reporting standard?

Review the Q&A on FEI's website.

Accounting change drives new ideas about how to do business

May 29, 2018

On May 29, 2018, Compliance Week published an article on how companies are beginning to reconsider certain aspects of how they do business as they adapt to new accounting rules.

At Compliance Week's 2018 conference, partners at Deloitte said certain changes in accounting rules for leases and revenue recognition are driving discussions about whether companies should change the way they manage contracts and compensate certain employees.

The discussions seem a little more advanced in the context of new revenue recognition rules, but lease implications are causing some reflection. Even new rules for recognizing loan losses are driving new conversations at financial institutions.

Review the full article on Compliance Week's website.

AcSB Insurance Transition Resource Group Meeting Notes – April 25, 2018

May 24, 2018

On May 24, 2018, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) released a summary of its Insurance Transition Resource Group meeting held on April 25, 2018.

The topics discussed at this meeting include:

  • Contract boundary for premium allocation approach
  • Reinsurance contract boundary
  • Educational materials
  • Boundary of reinsurance contracts held with repricing mechanisms
  • Combination of insurance contracts
  • Determining the risk adjustment for non-financial risk in a group of entities
  • Cash flows within the contract boundary
  • Determining the quantity of benefits for identifying coverage units
  • Implementation -challenges outreach report
  • Reporting on other questions submitted to the IASB Transition Resource Group for IFRS 17

Review the summary on the AcSB's website.

AICPA issues two revenue working drafts

May 02, 2018

On May 2, 2018, the AICPA’s revenue recognition task forces released for public comment two working drafts on accounting issues associated with the implementation of the new revenue standard for gaming and telecommunication entities.

The working drafts address the following topics:

  • Gaming entities’ accounting for management contract revenues, including costs reimbursed by managed properties (gaming)
  • Contract modifications (telecommunications)

Comments on the working drafts are due by July 2, 2018.

For more information, see the revenue recognition page on the AICPA’s Web site.

Business Implications of IFRS 16

May 31, 2018

In May 2018, the International Accounting Standards Board (the Board) posted a publication on the business implications of IFRS 16.

The topics covered include:

  • Key financial metrics
  • Debt covenants
  • Cost of borrowing
  • Reporting systems
  • Other implications

Review the publication on the Board's website.

Digital currency – A case for standard setting activity

May 31, 2018

In May 2018, the the International Accounting Standards Board (the Board) posted a publication by the Australian Accounting Standards Board on the accounting for digital currencies.

In the publication, they state that in their opinion there is a lack of clear guidance in IFRSs and, as a consequence, digital currencies could be accounted for under IAS 2 Inventory or IAS 38 Intangible Assets depending on certain facts and circumstances. They do not think that the measurement guidance in IAS 2 and IAS 38 provides relevant information to users of financial statements in the context of digital currencies. They think that digital currencies should be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognised in profit or loss. Furthermore, they think that the accounting for digital currencies highlights a broader issue with IFRSs in that there is no accounting standard that deals with investments in intangible assets or other commodity type assets that are not financial instruments or inventory. Consequently, they recommend that the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) develop a standard that would address the accounting for investments in intangible assets and commodities.

Review the publication on the IASB's website.

Impact of New Revenue Recognition Rule on the Russell 3000

May 11, 2018

On May 11, 2018, Audit Analytics posted an analysis on how as Russell 3000 public companies with December year-ends implement the new revenue recognition standard, they are beginning to see a pattern – smaller companies provide fewer details and generally are not as prepared as larger companies.

Smaller companies may lack resources to make timely accounting changes, resulting in an implementation lag and significant issues, including restatements and control weaknesses.

Looking at 2,803 Russell 3000 companies that referenced ASC 606 in Q4 financial statements, they considered the following factors when assessing a company’s implementation process:

  • Adoption Method Used
  • Control Weakness
  • Impact Disclosure
  • Revenue streams and specific areas of accounting affected
  • Other impacts
  • Completion stage
  • SEC Comment Letters
  • Outlook

Review the analysis on Audit Analytics' website.

Insurance contracts transition resource group holds second technical meeting

May 11, 2018

On May 11, 2018, the International Accounting Standards Board (the Board) released the recording of the Transition Resource Group (TRG) for Insurance Contracts' second technical meeting held on May 2, 2018.

The purpose of the TRG is to seek feedback on potential issues related to implementation of IFRS 17, Insurance Contracts. During the meeting, the TRG discussed the following:

  • Combination of insurance contracts
  • Determining the risk adjustment for non-financial risk in a group of entities
  • Cash flows within the contract boundary
  • Boundary of reinsurance contracts held with repricing mechanisms
  • Determining the quantity of benefits for identifying coverage units
  • Implementation challenges outreach report
  • Reporting on other questions submitted

A summary on the meeting and audio recordings of each session are available on the TRG meeting page on the International Accounting Standards Board's website.

Lease Accounting Faces Analyst Ambivalence

May 20, 2018

On May 20, 2018, the Financial Executives International (FEI) released an article on how despite the concern from financial preparers regarding the implementation of the new lease accounting rules, there is palpable ambivalence from at least one of the major consumers of the new disclosures: Wall Street research analysts.

Few, if any, analysts have questioned financial executives about their lease plans during the Q&A sessions of recent earning calls, where a majority of the accounting discussions revolved around revenue recognition issues.

And even once implementation begins in earnest as the 2019 deadline grows nearer, equity analysts admit they see fewer ramifications on their buy/sell decisions and models.

Review the full article on FEI's website and an article on how companies are still unprepared for leasing standard on Accounting Today's website.

Lessons Learned From SEC Comment Letters On the New Revenue Standard

May 06, 2018

On May 6, 2018, the Financial Executives International (FEI) published an article that analyzes eight SEC comment letters that have been issued related to the new revenue standard.

The FASB’s Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, provides a comprehensive revenue recognition model intended to reduce the complexity inherent in today’s guidance by increasing financial statement comparability across companies and industries.

Review the article on FEI's website.

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