Tentative Board Decisions

Tentative Board decisions are provided for those interested in following the Board's deliberations. All of the reported decisions are tentative and may be changed at future Board meetings.

Wednesday, March 30, 2016 FASB Board Meeting

Financial statements of not-for-profit entities (phase 1). The Board continued its redeliberations on the proposed Accounting Standards Update, Not-for-Profit Entities (Topic 958) and Health Care Entities (Topic 954): Presentation of Financial Statements of Not-for-Profit Entities, focusing on the transition method and effective date for applying the amendments in the forthcoming final Update.

Transition Method

The Board decided that not-for-profit entities (NFPs) should apply the amendments on a retrospective basis for all years presented. However, if presenting comparative financial statements, NFPs would have the option to omit the following information for any years presented before the year of adoption:
  1. Analysis of expenses by both functional and natural classification
  2. Disclosures around liquidity and availability of resources.
The Board decided that NFPs would not be required to apply the amendments to interim financial statements in the year of adoption, but information for those interim periods would be required to be restated if reported with financial statements for that fiscal year.

Effective Date

The Board decided that the amendments would be effective for financial statements for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and for interim financial statements for periods after that date. The Board also decided to permit early adoption subject to the transition method above.


Clarifying when a not-for-profit entity that is a general partner should consolidate a for-profit limited partnership (or similar entity). The Board discussed outreach performed on alternatives that would address when a not-for-profit general partner should consolidate a for-profit limited partnership (or similar entity). The Board also discussed transition method and whether to proceed with drafting a proposed Accounting Standards Update. The Board made the following decisions.

The Board decided to maintain current practice for not-for-profit general partners by reinstating the consolidation guidance that previously existed in Subtopic 810-20, Consolidation—Control of Partnerships and Similar Entities, and including it in Subtopic 958-810, Not-for-Profit Entities—Consolidation. The guidance in Subtopic 810-20 was removed as a result of amendments in Accounting Standards Update No. 2015-02, Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis.

Because the Board decided to reinstate the consolidation guidance that previously existed in Subtopic 810-20, the Board decided not to supersede the guidance related to special-purpose-entity (SPE) lessors from Subtopic 958-810 and agreed not to perform further outreach on the SPE guidance.

The Board decided to provide transition guidance because some entities may have early adopted the amendments in Update 2015-02. Those not-for-profit entities that have adopted the amendments in Update 2015-02 would apply the proposed amendments using a modified retrospective approach by recording a cumulative-effect adjustment to equity as of the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption, or they would apply the amendments retrospectively.

Not-for-profit entities that have not yet adopted the amendments in Update 2015-02 would apply the proposed amendments using the same effective date and transition provisions in Update 2015-02.

The Board directed the staff to draft a proposed Accounting Standards Update for vote by written ballot, with a comment period of 60 days.