The second quarter of 2015 was a productive one for the FASB. The Board made significant progress on its simplification initiative (i.e., the Board’s effort to reduce the cost and complexity of current U.S. GAAP while maintaining or enhancing the usefulness of the related financial statement information) by issuing (1) final ASUs on cloud computing, debt issuance costs, and a practical expedient for measuring retirement benefit plans and (2) proposed ASUs on the accounting for share-based payments, equity method accounting, and the accounting for measurement-period adjustments. In addition, the Board amended certain aspects of the joint FASB-IASB revenue standard, releasing two proposed ASUs that would (1) amend certain portions of the guidance in ASU 2014-09 on performance obligations and licensing and (2) defer the standard’s effective date by one year.

On the international front, the IASB followed the FASB’s lead in issuing an ED that would defer the effective date of its counterpart revenue standard, IFRS 15. The IASB also issued a series of amendments to its IFRS for SMEs as well as proposals that would (1) revise its conceptual framework for financial reporting and (2) make narrow-scope amendments to its pension accounting requirements.

Download