SEC's SAB 114 Released; Conforms SAB Codification to FASB's Cod.

Yesterday, the SEC released Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 114, which:

revises or rescinds portions of the interpretive guidance included in the codification of the Staff Accounting Bulletin Series. This update is intended to make the relevant interpretive guidance consistent with current authoritative accounting guidance issued as part of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Codification [ASC].

Weighing in at 358 pages, SAB 114 states upfront (pg. 2 of the SAB) that it:

• amend[s] [the Staff Accounting Bulletin Series] to update authoritative accounting literature references to the FASB ASC throughout,
• [makes] several conforming formatting changes ... for consistency across SAB topics, and that
• due to the number of these changes, the SAB Series is represented in its entirety in this release.

Importantly, SAB 114 states:

All of the changes are technical in nature, and none of the changes are
intended to change the guidance provided in the SAB Series.

My two cents (I remind you of the disclaimer posted on the right side of this blog): Although the intent of SAB 114 as stated by the SEC staff in the sentence copied above was to make conforming, technical changes - and not to change any of the (substantive) guidance provided in the SAB Series - those applying, auditing, or otherwise making use of the SAB's and the resulting accounting treatment should consult SAB 114 directly. And, props to the ever-watchful Broc Romanek of TheCorporateCounsel.net Blog for flagging this new SAB earlier today.

SEC Adopts 2011 U.S. GAAP Taxonomy; PCAOB Investor Advisory Group To Meet

Recent developments on the public company financial reporting, auditing and regulatory front include the March 1 announcement by the Financial Accounting Foundation that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted the 2011 U.S. GAAP Taxonomy developed by the FAF. The GAAP taxonomy refers to the interactive tags used for purposes of submitting certain required financial information to the SEC (or for other purposes) as interactive data by using eXtensible Business Reporting Language or XBRL. See the FAF's press release. Additional information about SEC XBRL reporting requirements can be found on the SEC's XBRL portal.

Separately, the U.S. Public Company Accounting Oversight Board recently announced that it will hold its next Investory Advisory Group meeting on March 16. According to the PCAOB's press release, matters to be addressed by the IAG include: audit lessons to be drawn from the financial crisis, possible amendments to the auditor's report, and the implications of global networks for audit firm governance.

FAF Working Group To Conduct Outreach, Seek Input, On Private Co. Standard Setting

Following on its receipt in January of the report and recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Standard-Setting for Private Companies --a panel jointly sponsored by the Financial Accounting Foundation (which oversees the FASB), the American Institute of CPAs, and the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy, the FAF announced earlier today the formation of a Working Group among the FAF Trustees to focus on the issue of private company standard-setting.

Specifically, the FAF Working Group will be charged with conducting outreach and seeking input on the recommendations made by the BRP, to help inform the FAF Trustees as they give further consideration to those recommendations. Among the recommendations made by the BRP were to form a separate standard-setting board dedicated to private companies, to operate alongside FASB, under the aegis of the FAF. View the list of FAF Trustees.

Read more in today's FAF press release and our previous post on the BRP report.

IFRS For SMEs Implementation Group Seeks Comment On Draft Guidance
In other news relating to private companies, the IASB's Small and Medium Sized Entities Implementation Group (SMIEG) published draft guidance last week on Use of IFRS for SMEs in Parent's Separate Financial Statements. The comment deadline on the draft guidance (representing the first set of draft guidance released by the SMIEG), is April 4. View the list of SMIEG members.