Council Proposes Accounting Standards Modifications for Private Companies

The Private Company Council voted Tuesday to move forward with proposed alternatives within U.S. GAAP to improve financial reporting for private companies.

The PCC’s approved exposure of the proposals is the first step in a process toward endorsement by the Financial Accounting Standards Board.

In its third public meeting, the PCC made tentative decisions in the areas of providing private companies with relief from separately recognizing certain intangible assets acquired in a business combination. The council also tentatively decided to allow for the amortization of goodwill and a simplified goodwill impairment model. In addition, the PCC proposed to allow two simpler approaches to accounting for certain types of interest rate swaps when a private company intends to economically convert the interest rate on its debt.

“Today the PCC took action on issues of critical importance to private companies, representing an important milestone in our joint efforts with the FASB to improve financial reporting in the areas of intangible assets, goodwill, and interest rate swaps,” said PCC chairman Billy M. Atkinson in a statement. “The robust discussion and collaboration between the PCC and the FASB made this first step toward improvement possible.”

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