For a summary of the accounting rules released in 2017 and the most significant new rules from 2016, 2015, and 2014, check out A Closer Look: Discussion and Analysis of Current Accounting and Audit Issues.
CCH made this update available for free to people on their mailing list. I received permission from my editor at CCH to make it available on my blog.
Click here to download the 54 page newsletter. CCH does not have a separate landing page for the document, so that link automatically downloads the newsletter. UPDATE: If link didn’t work for you, please try again. I reloaded the link and it is working now.
For each of the accounting rules covered, the newsletter provides:
- Applicability
- Effective date
- Early adoption options
- Transition rules
- Discussion
- Presentation and disclosure
The discussions range from a short one-paragraph comment to over a page for the new not-for-profit rules (ASU 2016-14) and over two pages for revenue recognition (ASU 2014-09).
Many of these rules do not apply to the not-for-profit community. However, there are some major issues here that will apply. Think financial statement presentation, leases, revenue recognition, and restricted cash on cash flow statement.
Feel free to download a copy. Read it for a superb set of reminders of all the new rules in place or on the horizon. Keep a copy for reference, such as effective dates or a reminder of the point of the ASUs.
I heartily recommend all CPAs read the newsletter as a planning technique for your upcoming year-end audits. There’s no telling what rules have been issued that you somehow missed. A refresher of the rules you knew about would also be worth your time. (Discovering what I should have focused on instead of browsing and getting a refresher on what I did focus on are the two main reasons I read so many update documents this time of year.)
Full disclosure: I am compensated by CCH for technical reviews of some of their materials and for updating one of their books. I have no financial interest in the A Closer Look newsletter.
Update: Looks like the link is working. Since I fixed it a little while ago, this page has been viewed 10 times and the newsletter link has been clicked 5 times and no additional comments.
Thank you for posting this. I would like to read the article, but when I click, both at work and at home, an office 365 pops up to say the page cannot be located. (I do not have office 365). Any suggestions on how I can access it would be helpful. Thank you,
Hi Barbara:
Thanks for letting me know. I clicked on the article and also got that error. I copied the link from my editor and reloaded it into the article. Link now works on my computer. Please check again. Since things sometime work differently on my computer since I’m logged in to the software, please let me know if that new link works.
Thanks again for telling me. My apologies for the confusion.
Jim