The June 30th fiscal year end is quickly approaching for governmental entities. Whether you have prepared or not, there are some new Governmental Accounting Standards Board (“GASB”) pronouncements that are required to be implemented this fiscal year. Remember that GASB No. 95, issued in May 2020, provided relief by postponing several standards by one year in response to the coronavirus pandemic. I hope everyone enjoyed the break because now it’s “go time” for implementation.
To help navigate when the various pronouncements become effective, I have put together a table that can be used for a quick reference tool:
June 30, 2022
| Statement No. 87 | Leases |
| Statement No. 89 | Accounting for Interest Cost Incurred before the End of a Construction Period |
| Statement No. 91 | Conduit Debt Obligations |
| Statement No. 92 | Omnibus 2020 |
| Statement No. 93 | Replacement of Interbank Offered Rates |
| Statement No. 97 | Certain Component Unit Criteria, and Accounting and Financial Reporting for Internal Revenue Code Section 457 Deferred Compensation Plans |
| Statement No. 98 | The Annual Comprehensive Financial Report |
June 30, 2023
| Statement No. 94 | Public-Private and Public-Public Partnerships and Availability Payment Arrangements |
| Statement No. 96 | Subscription-Based Information Technology Arrangements |
Another item I’d like to address applies to the governmental entities that participate in the program to obtain the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting (“COA”) Program. Effective March 1, 2022, the submission package must include an Excel or PDF file that contains the calculation for “net investment in capital assets” reported on the government-wide statement of net position. The calculation is to be made for both governmental and business-type activities. There is an Excel template posted on the GFOA’s site at www.gfoa.org/coa-program that provides an example of the calculation format.
Even if your organization doesn’t participate in the COA Program, it is worth checking out the example template to verify your organization is calculating the “net investment in capital assets” amount correctly. I’m curious as to why attention is now being given to this calculation and if this is an indicator that a future GASB pronouncement will be issued as a result. If you are unable to locate the Excel template, please feel free to reach out to me directly to obtain it.
I’m confident that most everyone is aware of the lease accounting standard as it has been discussed in detail over the past couple of years. The other standards, however, may have flown under your radar. It is important that your organization evaluate them to see if and how they impact your organization.
Some steps you can take now to prepare are:
- Read the pronouncements – they are available at no cost at www.gasb.org
- Attend trainings such as webinars and seminars
- Determine applicability to your organization
- Prepare a memo that documents the rationale for if the standard applies or why it does not
- Read through the published Q&A documents
- Network with your peers
- Meet and discuss with your external auditors prior to year end
Please reach out if there is something you would like to discuss further in regards to these new standards or if there is a topic you would like to see addressed in a future newsletter. Good luck on your endeavor to implement the above standards.