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, October 5, 2016 FASB Board Meeting

Ratification of EITF consensus and tentative conclusion. The Board ratified the consensus reached at the September 22, 2016 Emerging Issues Task Force meeting on the following EITF Issue. The Board directed the staff to draft an Accounting Standards Update reflecting the consensus for vote by written ballot.

Issue No. 16-A, "Restricted Cash"

Presentation
The Task Force reached a consensus that a statement of cash flows should explain the change during the period in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents. That is, amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents would be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period amounts shown on the statement of cash flows.

Disclosure
The Task Force reached a consensus that certain disclosures should be required to supplement the statement of cash flows. Specifically, an entity should (1) disclose information about the nature of the restrictions on cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents and (2) when cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents are presented in more than one line item within the statement of financial position, for each period that a statement of financial position is presented, present on the face of the statement of cash flows or disclose in the notes to the financial statements the line items and amounts of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents reported within the statement of financial position. The amounts, disaggregated by the line item in which they appear within the statement of financial position, should sum to the total amount of cash, cash equivalents, and amounts generally described as restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents at the end of the corresponding period shown in the statement of cash flows.

The Task Force decided not to require disclosure of the amounts of gross transfers between cash and restricted cash. The Task Force also decided not to require any additional disclosures on the basis that requiring other disclosures would go beyond the primary focus of this Issue, which is to provide narrow guidance about the presentation of changes in restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents on the statement of cash flows, thereby reducing diversity in practice.

Transition and Effective Date
The Task Force reached a consensus that the amendments in the Update should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. The Task Force believes that there is a significant benefit to retrospective transition because it will enhance the interperiod consistency and comparability of financial information.

The Task Force also reached a consensus to require the transition disclosures in paragraphs 250-10-50-1(a) and (b)(1) and 250-10-50-2, as applicable, in the interim and annual periods in which the amendments in the Update are adopted.

The Task Force decided that the amendments in the Update should be effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2017, and interim periods within those fiscal years. For all other entities, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in an interim period. If an entity early adopts the amendments in an interim period, any adjustments should be reflected as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period.

The Board ratified the consensus-for-exposure reached at the September 22, 2016 EITF meeting on the following EITF Issue. The Board directed the staff to draft a proposed Update reflecting the consensus-for-exposure for vote by written ballot. The Board decided to expose the proposed Update for public comment for a period of 60 days.

Issue No. 16-C, "Determining the Customer of the Operation Services in a Service Concession Arrangement"

The Task Force reached a consensus-for-exposure that the grantor is the customer of the operation services in all cases for service concession arrangements (SCA) within the scope of Topic 853. The Task Force also considered whether additional disclosures would be required about the identification of the customer of the operation services. On the basis of the Task Force's consensus-for-exposure that the grantor is the customer of the operation services in all cases and the existing disclosure requirements in GAAP, the Task Force decided not to require any additional disclosures.

Considering the consensus-for-exposure described above, the Task Force noted that it therefore had addressed the diversity in practice observed by some stakeholders about the recognition of revenue from construction services in certain service concession arrangements in which the third-party users were considered the customer of the operation services. Accordingly, the Task Force determined that no additional guidance is necessary for that particular aspect of the revenue guidance. The Task Force also considered whether it was necessary to clarify other aspects of the revenue guidance, such as determining whether major maintenance performed by the operating entity in an SCA is a separate deliverable under Topic 605 (or a performance obligation under Topic 606) or evaluating whether major maintenance can be capitalized when it is not a separate deliverable (or a separate performance obligation). The Task Force noted that the clarification provided by the consensus-for-exposure described above addresses the added complexity, and resulting diversity in practice, observed in the application of those other aspects of the revenue guidance. Therefore, the Task Force decided that there is currently sufficient accounting guidance in GAAP and that no further standard setting is necessary on those other aspects.

Transition and Effective Date
The Task Force reached a consensus-for-exposure that if an entity has not adopted the amendments in Topic 606 by the time the amendments in the proposed Update are finalized, the entity would be required to adopt the amendments in the proposed Update at the same time that it adopts the amendments in Topic 606, and it would apply the same transition method elected for the application of Topic 606. An entity that elects to early adopt Topic 606 before the finalization of the proposed amendments would apply the amendments in the proposed Update using either (1) a modified retrospective approach by recording a cumulative-effect adjustment to equity as of the beginning of the annual reporting period of adoption or (2) a retrospective approach. The Task Force will determine the effective date for entities that have elected to early adopt Topic 606, including whether to permit early adoption of the proposed amendments, after it considers stakeholder feedback on the proposed amendments.

The minutes of the September 22, 2016 EITF meeting, which will be posted to the FASB website by the end of October 2016, describe the consensus on Issue 16-A and the consensus-for-exposure on Issue 16-C.


Scope of modification accounting in Topic 718. The Board decided that an entity should not apply modification accounting under Topic 718 on stock compensation if the change to an award does not affect the total current fair value (or total calculated value or total intrinsic value, if such an alternative measurement method is used), vesting requirements, or classification of the award.

Recurring Disclosures

The Board decided to retain the existing recurring disclosures in Topic 718.

Transition

The Board decided that the proposed changes should be applied prospectively beginning in the period of adoption for all entities. The Board also decided not to require transition disclosures.

Analysis of Benefits, Perceived Costs, and Complexities

The Board concluded that it has received sufficient information and analysis on the proposed changes to make an informed decision on the issues presented. The Board also concluded that the expected benefits of the proposed changes would justify the costs.

Next Steps

The Board directed the staff to draft a proposed Accounting Standards Update for vote by written ballot, with a comment period of at least 30 days but ending no earlier than January 6, 2017.