FASB RETOOLS STANDARDS FOR PENSION PLANS
Norwalk, Conn. - The Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued a proposed set of standards that aim to shed more light on the financial reports of organizations that participate in multi-employer pension plans and other post-retirement benefit plans.
The exposure draft of the proposed Accounting Standards Update would require companies to provide more disclosures that the board believes would help investors better assess the potential risks faced by employers who participate in multi-employer plans.
Under the proposal, employers would have to provide more information, including a description of the plans in which the employer is involved, the employer's contractual commitments to the plans, and the expected impact of participating in the plans on the employer's future cash flows (including the potential impact of plan withdrawal obligations).
If approved, the proposed update would require a public company to provide the enhanced disclosures for fiscal years ending after Dec. 15, 2010, and in subsequent fiscal years. A nonpublic company would be required to provide the enhanced disclosures for fiscal years beginning on or after Dec. 15, 2011, and in subsequent fiscal years.
The comment period for the update extends through Nov. 1, 2010. The exposure draft is available at www.fasb.org.
GAO REVISES AUDIT STANDARDS
Washington, D.C. - The Government Accountability Office is proposing changes to Government Auditing Standards, commonly known as the Yellow Book.
The major changes in the proposed revision were made to consolidate and re-organize the foundation and ethical principles for government audits, and to add a conceptual framework approach for independence.The GAO also wanted to update the audit standards to reflect recent updates to the auditing standards issued by the American Institute of CPAs, where applicable. Comments on the proposed standards should be sent to yellowbook@gao.gov by Nov. 22, 2010.
