As your District’s fiscal year comes to an end, we look to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) to see what they have on the horizon.
As your District’s fiscal year comes to an end, we look to the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) to see what they have on the horizon. Over the past several years, there have been some big implementations like GASB Statement No. 87, Leases and GASB Statement No. 96, Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements. What can we expect GASB to focus on during the last half of 2024?
Projects Expected to Be Finalized in 2024
Financial Reporting Model Improvement
This statement was approved in GASB’s April 2024 meeting and will be effective for fiscal year 2026. The new standard will upgrade the financial statements of governments around the nation by making improvements to GASB Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements—and Management’s Discussion and Analysis—for State and Local Governments. The objective of the standard is to improve the Management’s Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), provide clarification on various financial statement areas and offer additional budgetary comparison analysis.
Classification of Nonfinancial Assets
GASB is expected to vote on this statement in late summer 2024. The objective of this project is to address the classification of certain capital assets, such as right-to-use assets and assets held for sale. The project will not reexamine the recognition or measurement of nonfinancial assets.
Ongoing GASB Projects
Infrastructure assets. The objective is to provide users of the financial statements more useful and consistent information related to infrastructure assets. The project, which is currently out for preliminary view, will not have a focus on capital projects.
Going concern. The objective is to focus on governments that are experiencing extreme financial stress and move away from defining going concern as governments that are expected to cease to exist This project is also out for preliminary view.
Subsequent events. GASB expects to release an exposure draft on subsequent events. The objective is to clarify what constitutes a subsequent event and when subsequent events should be recognized.
Revenue and expense transactions. GASB continues to move forward on the revenue and expense project which focuses on categorization, measurement, and recognition of various revenue and expense transactions. You still have the opportunity to provide feedback on each of these projects.
Stay tuned for more updates as GASB continues to shape the landscape of governmental accounting and enhance financial reporting.
