Stakeholders are asked to provide input into the FASB's future agenda
13 May 2013
The Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), the FASB's primary advisory group, has issued a survey to solicit stakeholder views about the FASB’s future agenda. The FASB will consider the input received through the survey as well as input received from other sources when deciding which projects to add to its technical agenda. Certain projects suggested could lead to further convergence between US GAAP and IFRSs.
As certain major projects (for example revenue recognition) are expected to be completed soon, the FASB is free to reconsider its priorities and resource allocation. Stakeholders are therefore invited to prioritise and rank projects that are active FASB projects, currently halted FASB projects or not on the FASB's agenda at all yet.
Excluded from the survey are active agenda projects that the FASB expects complete by 3Q 2013, active agenda projects in which the FASB has issued an Exposure Draft (or expects to issue within 2Q 2013) and implementation projects that have an expected time frame for completion of less than one year.
Also excluded are the convergence projects that are part of the FASB-IASB Memorandum of Understanding. However, participants are asked to "[a]ssume that the direction of the use of international accounting standards in the U.S. is as outlined by the SEC staff to date". Nevertheless participants are also asked to weigh improvement and convergence if a trade-off is needed between improvement to US GAAP and convergence with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).
The project descriptions included as an appendix to the survey offer detailed information on the projects (or potential projects) along with references to corresponding IASB projects where applicable. Among the IASB projects referred to are (some of these were added to the IASB agenda or reactivated as a result of the IASB's own agenda consultation in 2011):
- General hedge accounting and Macro hedge accounting (hedging is also an active FASB project)
- Conceptual framework (currently an inactive FASB project)
- Rate-regulated activities (not yet on the FASB agenda)
- Bearer plants (not yet on the FASB agenda)
Participants can choose between either a short-form or the full survey. As additional information a PDF version of the survey and of the project descriptions are also available. Responses are requested by 30 May 2013.
Please click for for the following information on the FASB website:
