Pershing Yoakley & Associates, P.C. is pleased to present the January 2011 Audit & Accounting Update. This publication is designed to provide direct access to current audit and accounting information that is most relevant to you.
FASB Activities
Recently Completed Projects
The FASB released one Accounting Standards Update (ASU) in the month of January 2011. To view the Accounting Standards Update listed below, please click here.
ASU 2011-01 – Receivables (Topic 310): Deferral of the Effective Date of Disclosures about Troubled Debt Restructurings in Update No. 2010-20
The amendments in this ASU temporarily delay for public entities the effective date of the disclosures about troubled debt restructurings in ASU 2010-20 in order for the effective date of the ASU to coincide with that of FASB guidance for determining what constitutes a troubled debt restructuring. The delay is in part due to the FASB still deliberating as to what constitutes a troubled debt restructuring. As it currently stands, the guidance for troubled debt restructurings is anticipated to be effective for interim and annual periods ending after June 15, 2011.
Exposure Drafts in the News
The FASB released one Proposed Accounting Standards Update (PASU) and one “Supplemental Document” in the month of January 2011. To view these items which are listed below, please click here.
PASU – Balance Sheet (Topic 210): Offsetting
This PASU addresses the differences in guidance for offsetting assets and liabilities that exist between U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Under the PASU, entities would be required to offset a recognized eligible asset and a recognized eligible liability when it has an unconditional and legally enforceable right to offset and intends either to settle the asset and liability on a net basis or to realize the asset and settle the liability simultaneously. The PASU would also require expanded disclosure of offsetting arrangements. The effective date for the amendments in the PASU has not been determined. The deadline for comment is April 28, 2011.
Supplementary Document – Accounting for Financial Instruments and Revisions to the Accounting for Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities – Impairment
This Supplementary Document was issued for public comment as a step preceding the development of an Exposure Draft of a PASU. The Supplementary Document presents an impairment model for comment that the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board believe will enable them to satisfy, in part, objectives for impairment accounting. This document primarily addresses the timing of recognition of expected credit losses and is designed to bring U.S. GAAP and IFRS more inline. The deadline for comment is April 1, 2011.
FDIC Activities
On January 13, 2011 the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced the formation of a new dedicated, toll-free hotline for small businesses. The new hotline became operational the day of the release and allows small business owners to make inquiries with FDIC officials or to register concerns about the availability of credit. The FDIC will respond to inquiries about policies and financial institutions it regulates as well as make referrals to other governmental agencies where appropriate. The small business hotline is operational Monday thru Friday, 8am to 8pm, Eastern Standard Time. The toll-free number is 1-855-FDIC-BIZ (1-855-334-2249). To complement the new small business hotline, the FDIC also created a dedicated Website for small businesses to utilize: www.fdic.gov/smallbusiness.
To view the FDIC’s press release regarding this rule, please click here.
On January 18, 2011 the FDIC approved a final rule to include Interest on Lawyer Trust Accounts (IOLTAs) in the temporary unlimited deposit coverage for noninterest-bearing transaction accounts. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act provides temporary, unlimited deposit insurance for all noninterest-bearing transaction accounts. The FDIC’s final rule implements the December 29, 2010 amendment to that Act by including IOLTAs within the definition of a “noninterest-bearing transaction account.” All funds held in IOLTA accounts, together with all other noninterest-bearing transaction account deposits, are fully insured, without limit, from December 31, 2010, through December 31, 2012. This coverage is separate from, and in addition to, the coverage provided to depositors for other accounts at an insured depository institution.
To view the FDIC’s press release regarding this rule, please click here.
For more information, please contact the experts listed below at (800) 270-9629.
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