[ABFM] FW: The User's Perspective, May 2007

[Voorhees, William]

Could you please forward this newsletter to the members of ABFM?

 

Thanks.

 

Dr. William Voorhees <http://www.unf.edu/~n00467728> 

Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Board

ABFM Representative

 

Department of Political Science & Public Administration

University of North Florida

Jacksonville, FL  32258

904.260.3908

William.Voorhees at unf.edu

 

 

 

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The User's Perspective

May 2007

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GASB Home <http://www.gasb.org>   |  GASB Store
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<http://www.gasb.org/news/index.html> 

 

 

Derivatives: Significant Changes in Disclosure Proposals
<http://www.gasb.org/newsletter/derivatives_may2007.html> 
In May 2006, the GASB issued a Preliminary Views document that proposed
to report derivatives at their fair value in the financial statements.
If a derivative is an effective hedge against the loss of fair value or
cash flows, then changes in its fair value would be deferred until it
ends or becomes ineffective. If a derivative is not an effective hedge
or is associated with an investment carried at fair value, the changes
in the fair value of the derivative would be reported as investment
income in the change statements. This basic approach will be retained in
a draft Statement to be issued in June, but based on public response to
the Preliminary Views, the GASB has made significant changes to the
disclosure requirements that it believes will make them more useful and
usable, while keeping the effort required to prepare the disclosures
reasonable. 

  









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GASB's guides for financial statement users, the Governmental Accounting
Research System, other publications, and subscription plans can be
purchased online.

Visit the GASB Store <http://store.yahoo.com/gasbpubs/index.html>  

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Touring the Financial Report, Part I: The Statement of Net Assets
<http://www.gasb.org/newsletter/statement_of_net_assets_may2007.html> 
The centerpieces of the state and local government financial report
introduced by GASB Statement 34 are its two government-wide financial
statements. The financial statements previously spread a government's
financial activities across various funds, which reported information
using different accounting bases. The government-wide statements bring
together a government's finances in one place and report them using full
accrual. This article walks through the first of the government-wide
statements, the statement of net assets. 

  

Touring the Financial Report, Part II: The Statement of Activities
<http://www.gasb.org/newsletter/statement_of_activities_may2007.html> 
The companion to the government-wide statement of net assets is the
statement of activities, but it is not your father's income statement.
The statement of activities introduces a new design to the reporting of
revenues and expenses that particularly emphasizes how a government's
functions and programs are financed. This article continues the tour of
the government-wide financial statements by pointing out the major
features of the statement of activities. 

  

GASB Project Update
<http://www.gasb.org/newsletter/project_update_may2007.html> 
Projects on the GASB's current technical agenda range from broad
considerations of the basic concepts of accounting and financial
reporting to detailed examinations of highly technical issues. This
article briefly summarizes selected projects, including two new projects
on performance reporting and intergovernmental risks. 

  


Let the GASB know who you are: Fill out the GASB visitors register
<http://www.gasb.org/visitor/reg_form.html>  and we will keep you up to
date about what we are doing.

 

 

Derivatives Proposal Coming Soon:
Keep an eye open for the GASB's proposed standards on derivatives, which
will be published at the end of June. Please take a look at these
proposed standards and share your opinion with us.

 

 

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