The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a new accounting standards update that aims to clarify the kinds of transactions that are subject to disclosures about offsetting.

Accounting Standards Update, “Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Clarifying the Scope of Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities,” clarifies that ordinary trade receivables and receivables are not in the scope of Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-11, “Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Disclosures about Offsetting Assets and Liabilities.” Specifically, Update 2011-11 applies only to derivatives, repurchase agreements and reverse purchase agreements, along with securities borrowing and securities lending transactions that are either offset in accordance with specific criteria contained in the FASB Accounting Standards Codification or subject to a master netting arrangement or similar agreement.

“This update addresses stakeholder questions about the scope of balance sheet offsetting guidance issued by the FASB at the end of 2011,” said FASB technical director Susan M. Cosper in a statement. “The update will reduce unintended costs while providing investors and other users with the information they need to understand the extent to which certain financial instruments are offset pursuant to master netting arrangements.”

Issued in December 2011, Update 2011-11 was the result of a joint project with the International Accounting Standards Board. Its objective was to improve transparency and comparability between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards by requiring enhanced disclosures about financial instruments and derivative instruments that are either offset on the statement of financial position or subject to an enforceable master netting arrangement or similar
FASB said it undertook the clarification project in response to concerns expressed by U.S. stakeholders about the standard’s broad definition of financial instruments. After the standard was finalized, companies realized that many contracts have standard commercial provisions that would equate to a master netting arrangement, significantly increasing the cost of compliance at minimal value to financial statement users.

The update is available on FASB’s Web site, along with more information about this and other FASB projects, at www.fasb.org.