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, August 22, 2018 FASB Board Meeting

Simplifying the balance sheet classification of debt. The Board continued redeliberations of proposed Accounting Standards Update, Debt (Topic 470): Simplifying the Classification of Debt in a Classified Balance Sheet (Current versus Noncurrent). The Board made the following decisions.

Classification Principle—Unused Long-Term Financing Arrangements

The Board reversed its previous decision that if a long-term financing arrangement is in place as of the balance sheet date (for example, an unused line of credit), the amount of current maturities for any other debt arrangements would be reduced by the unused amount of the long-term financing arrangement up to the amount of the current maturities and classified as a noncurrent liability. Therefore, an unused long-term financing arrangement in place at the balance sheet date should be disregarded in determining the classification of debt.
 
The Board directed the staff to conduct additional outreach, focusing on scenarios in which an entity has a redeemable instrument that is subject to a remarketing agreement and is also secured by a long-term letter of credit.
 
Grace Periods

The Board clarified how to apply the debt classification principle when a debt covenant violation exists and the creditor provides a grace period. Specifically, the Board decided that when a borrower violates a provision of a long-term debt agreement and the creditor provides a specified grace period for the borrower to cure the violation, which makes the debt no longer callable at the balance sheet date, the borrower should classify the debt as a noncurrent liability.   

The Board decided to require an entity to disclose information when a borrower violates a provision of a long-term debt agreement and the creditor provides a specified grace period. That disclosure would be required when (1) the violation has not been cured before the financial statements are issued (or are available to be issued) and (2) the violation would make the long-term obligation callable.

Effective Date

The Board decided that the effective date should be as follows:
  1. For public business entities, for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within those fiscal years
  2. For all other entities, for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022.
The Board directed the staff to draft an Accounting Standards Update for vote by written ballot.


Conceptual framework—elements. The Board discussed various concepts related to distinguishing liabilities from equity. The Board made no decisions.