The FASB said it developed its Proposed
Accounting Standards Update, Financial Instruments--Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, as part of its broader joint project with the International
Accounting Standards Board to improve and converge the accounting for financial instruments.
Apart from laying down principles of financial reporting for Islamic financial institutions and providing the basis for AAOIFI
accounting standards, the new Conceptual Framework also gives updated guidance on accounting treatment for investment accounts.
Melancon, AICPA president and CEO, has called for a permanent, independent funding mechanism for the International
Accounting Standards Committee Foundation, the governing body of the International
Accounting Standards Board.
Before making the decision, the Board said it talked with its constituents, including the Financial
Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), the User Advisory Council (UAC), and the staff of the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC).
Accordingly, setters of
accounting standards need to consider improvements to the accounting treatment that do not result in a disincentive to those who prudently use credit derivatives for risk-management purposes.
IASs 32 and 39, which deal with the accounting and disclosure of financial instruments, are not included because they are currently in the process of being revised by the International
Accounting Standards Board (IASB), in cooperation with European accounting experts.
Ask CPAs to name a top priority in the development of
accounting standards, and some will answer, "Convergence." Many others, though, will say the quest for global standards has little relevance for them.
Lowe said the industry itself could make it easier to fashion a transparent
accounting standard for insurance contracts--perhaps even with a fair-value approach, if it could develop a single actuarial standard for reserving.
Federal Standards: Federal
accounting standards govern how costs should be allocated by recipients of federal grants and contracts.
The exposure drafts reflect the progress that the FASB and International
Accounting Standards Board have made on a first phase of a joint short-term convergence project that was initiated in 2002.
In recent years, frequent political intervention has shown little regard for the long-term damage it can do to the profession's prerogative for self-regulation and to the integrity of its due process for setting
accounting standards and policies.