Government accounting

The Pentagon made $35 trillion in accounting adjustments last year alone — a total that’s larger than the entire U.S. economy and underscores the Defense Department’s continuing difficulty in balancing its books.

The Financial Accounting Foundation’s board of trustees has named Joel Black, partner in charge of the audit practice at Top 100 Firm Mauldin & Jenkins, the next chair of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board.

The reporting requirements will be in effect for government entities beginning Dec. 15 for all reporting periods subsequent to that date.

The Public Interest Committee, which oversees the standard-setting activities of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board, has initiated a public survey on the governance arrangements at the IPSASB to gauge perceptions of the standard-setting group’s oversight.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has proposed implementation guidance with questions and answers to clarify and explain some of GASB’s earlier standards and pronouncements.

The 50 states have accumulated a combined $1.5 trillion in debt related to pension and other post-employment benefits, while elected officials claimed balanced budgets.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board proposed accounting and financial reporting guidance for state and local governments to help them transition away from the London Interbank Offered Rate to newer reference rates.

The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board staff released an exposure draft of a technical bulletin that would clarify the existing standards for loss allowances.

The exposure draft offers standards for how governments can account for monetary gold and currency in circulation.

The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board has issued an interpretation of some recent standards involving cost provisions among multiple entities who are liable for cleanup costs.