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Accounting Research Manager®
Weekly Summary of Developments
July 25-29, 2011
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Accounting Research Manager subscriber,

The Accounting Research Manager database now contains this week's weekly summary of developments. Click the link below to access and print the fully-formatted Weekly Summary:

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If you do not have immediate Internet access to the Accounting Research Manager database, below is the text of this week's Weekly Summary.

Accounting and SEC Headlines

Health Care Entities -- FASB Issues Guidance for Health Care Entities
New Accounting Standards -- Checklist Updated
Derivatives and Hedging -- Interpretation Updated
Retirement Plans -- FASB Discusses Retirement Plan Disclosures and Other Matters
Offsetting -- IASB and FASB Discuss Asset and Liability Offsetting and Other Matters
Asset-Backed Securities -- SEC Re-Proposes Shelf Eligibility Conditions for Asset-Backed Securities
SEC Regulations Committee -- CAQ SEC Regulations Committee Minutes Issued
International Accounting -- CAQ International Practices Task Force Minutes Issued
Government Auditing Standards -- AICPA Publishes Audit Risk Alert

Auditing and Internal Controls Headlines

Real Estate -- New Edition of Knowledge-Based Audits of Real Estate Published
Subsequent Events -- AICPA Clarified Statement on Auditing Standards Discussed
Government Auditing Standards -- AICPA Publishes Audit Risk Alert

Government Headlines

Service Concession Arrangements -- GASB 60 Discussed


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ACCOUNTING AND SEC HEADLINES:
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Health Care Entities -- FASB Issues Guidance for Health Care Entities
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


The FASB has issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2011-07, Health Care Entities (Topic 954): Presentation and Disclosure of Patient Service Revenue, Provision for Bad Debts, and the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts for Certain Health Care Entities. The ASU represents a consensus of the EITF on Issue No. 09-H, “Health Care Entities: Presentation and Disclosure of Net Revenue, Provision for Bad Debts, and the Allowance for Doubtful Accounts.”

The amendments in this ASU require certain health care entities to change the presentation in their statement of operations by reclassifying the provision for bad debts associated with patient service revenue from an operating expense to a deduction from patient service revenue (net of contractual allowances and discounts). Additionally, those health care entities are required to provide enhanced disclosure about their policies for recognizing revenue and assessing bad debts. The amendments also require disclosures of patient service revenue (net of contractual allowances and discounts) as well as qualitative and quantitative information about changes in the allowance for doubtful accounts.

For public entities, the amendments in this ASU are effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011, with early adoption permitted. For nonpublic entities, the amendments are effective for the first annual period ending after December 15, 2012, and interim and annual periods thereafter, with early adoption permitted. The amendments to the presentation of the provision for bad debts related to patient service revenue in the statement of operations should be applied retrospectively to all prior periods presented. The disclosures required by the amendments in this ASU should be provided for the period of adoption and subsequent reporting periods.

New Accounting Standards -- Checklist Updated
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We have updated our publication "Summary Checklist of Recent Authoritative U.S. Accounting Standards." This checklist is intended to serve as a reference tool to help users ensure that they have considered authoritative standards recently issued or approved by the FASB. The checklist is updated shortly after the FASB adds or revises content in the FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM (Codification). The standards are listed by source and a summary of the transition guidance is provided with a reference to the relevant Codification paragraph(s). Effective dates and application (adoption) requirements are also presented.

We have updated our checklist to reflect the issuance of ASU 2011-07, discussed above.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Derivatives and Hedging -- Interpretation Updated
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We have revised our publication, Derivatives and Hedging - Interpretations of U.S. GAAP, to reflect amendments of the Codification through ASU No. 2011-05, Comprehensive Income (Topic 220): Presentation of Comprehensive Income, and FASB Editorial and Maintenance Update No. 2011-11. We have added interpretations to: (a) affirm that the regular-way exception is mandatory, not elective; and (b) clarify that the probability thresholds for recognition (i.e., deferral) and derecognition of amounts under a cash flow hedge differ.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Retirement Plans -- FASB Discusses Retirement Plan Disclosures and Other Matters
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


As reported in its "Summary of Board Decisions" publication, the FASB met on July 27, 2011, and discussed disclosures about an employer's participation in a multiemployer plan. The FASB approved revisions to the proposed ASU, Compensation -- Retirement Benefits -- Multiemployer Plans (Subtopic 715-80): Disclosure about an Employer’s Participation in a Multiemployer Plan. The proposed ASU and the FASB’s related revisions are intended to provide more information about an employer’s financial obligations to multiemployer pension plans. Multiemployer pension plans are commonly used by an employer to provide benefits to union employees who may work for many employers during their working life, in order to enable them to accrue benefits in a single pension plan.
 
Currently, employers are required to disclose only their total contributions to all multiemployer plans in which they participate.
 
The new disclosures announced by the FASB include:

-The amount of employer contributions made to each significant plan and to all plans in the aggregate;
-An indication of whether the employer’s contributions represent more than 5% of total contributions to the plan;
-An indication of which plans, if any, are subject to a funding improvement plan;
-The expiration date(s) of collective bargaining agreement(s) and any minimum funding arrangements;
-A description of the nature and effect of any changes affecting comparability for each period in which a statement of income is presented; and
-The most recent certified funded status of the plan, as determined by the plan’s so-called “zone status,” which is required by the Pension Protection Act of 2006.
-If the zone status is not available, an employer will be required to disclose whether the plan is: (a) less than 65% funded; (b) between 65% and 80% funded; or (c) greater than 80% funded.

The FASB expects that the revisions will be finalized and added to the Codification in September 2011. For public entities, the enhanced disclosures will be required in fiscal years ending after December 15, 2011. For nonpublic entities, the enhanced disclosures will be required in fiscal years ending after December 15, 2012.

Offsetting -- IASB and FASB Discuss Asset and Liability Offsetting and Other Matters
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As reported in its "IASB Update" publication, the IASB and FASB met on July 20-21, 2011, and discussed the following topics:

-Asset and liability offsetting;
-Effective dates and transition methods for certain projects;
-Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants disclosure report-education session;
-Impairment;
-Insurance contracts; and
-Leases.

The IASB held a separate meeting on July 22, 2011, and discussed the following topics:

-Agenda consultation report;
-Asset and liability offsetting;
-Hedge accounting under IFRS 9, Financial instruments;
-IFRS Interpretations Committee-update from last meeting; and
-IFRS 9-effective dates

Asset-Backed Securities -- SEC Re-Proposes Shelf Eligibility Conditions for Asset-Backed Securities
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


The SEC has issued for public comment a proposed rule, Re-proposal of Shelf Eligibility Conditions for Asset-Backed Securities and Other Additional Requests for Comment. This proposal revises and re-proposes certain rules that were initially proposed in April 2010 by the SEC related to asset-backed securities. Since that time, the Dodd-Frank Act was enacted. As a result of this legislation and comments received on the original proposal, the SEC now believes that some of its originally proposed rules are either no longer necessary or should be changed as described in the revised proposal.

Comments on this proposal are due 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.

SEC Regulations Committee -- CAQ SEC Regulations Committee Minutes Issued
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The Center for Audit Quality SEC Regulations Committee has issued minutes from its joint meeting with the staff of the SEC held on June 28, 2011. This committee meets periodically with the SEC staff to discuss emerging technical accounting and reporting issues relating to SEC rules and regulations. Topics discussed at this meeting included the following:

-Update on the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance personnel and organizational changes;
-Various financial reporting matters including: (a) SEC staff notifications of completion of Exchange Act filing reviews; (b) loss contingency disclosures; (c) definition of "full and unconditional" related to guaranteed securities; and (d) reverse mergers;
-Implementation issues and observations associated with the SEC’s requirements on the use of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL);
-Applicability of SEC reporting requirements to acquisitions and dispositions made by a consolidated variable interest entity (VIE);
-Calculating significance when a registrant concludes it must consolidate a VIE;
-Disclosures under Item 304 of Regulation S-K for auditor changes within an international network; and
-Subsidiary guarantor financial statements provided under Rule 3-10(g) of Regulation S-X.

International Accounting -- CAQ International Practices Task Force Minutes Issued
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The Center for Audit Quality International Practices Task Force has issued minutes from its joint meeting with the staff of the SEC held on May 24, 2011. This task force meets periodically with the SEC staff to discuss emerging technical accounting and reporting issues relating to SEC rules and regulations. Topics discussed at this meeting included the following:

-Canadian first time application of IFRS-interim period financial information in a registration statement or prospectus;
-Application of GAAP applicable to private entities in Canada and the financial statement requirements of Rule 3-05 and Rule 3-09 of foreign businesses;
-Acceptance of proposed Canadian Auditing Standards task force auditors reports in SEC filings;
-Monitoring inflation in certain countries;
-XBRL taxonomy for IFRS issuers; and
-Registrant delinquent in its Exchange Act reporting.

Government Auditing Standards -- AICPA Publishes Audit Risk Alert
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


The AICPA has published an Audit Risk Alert, Government Auditing Standards and Circular A-133 Developments-2011. This Alert is intended to provide auditors who perform audits under Government Auditing Standards or the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations, with an overview of recent economic, technical, industry, regulatory, and professional developments that may affect the audits and other engagements they perform. This Alert also can be used by an entity’s internal management to address areas of audit concern.

Some of the documents listed above may not be accessible under your current subscription. For information about upgrading your subscription to include additional content, click here:
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


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AUDITING AND INTERNAL CONTROLS HEADLINES:
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Real Estate -- New Edition of Knowledge-Based Audits of Real Estate Published
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


We have published the 2011 edition of Knowledge-Based Audits of Real Estate. This publication is designed to help the auditor efficiently and effectively perform financial statement audits of real estate entities in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAS). This edition of the publication includes revisions and updates to reflect current audit and accounting authoritative literature and, among other things, auditing pronouncements through AICPA Statement on Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 120, Required Supplementary Information.

See our Literature Update for complete details.

Subsequent Events -- AICPA Clarified Statement on Auditing Standards Discussed
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We have added a GAAS Update Service that provides discussion and analysis of a clarified SAS, Subsequent Events and Subsequently Discovered Facts, which was finalized as part of the AICPA's Clarity Project. This clarified SAS will supersede:

-SAS 1, Codification of Auditing Standards and Procedures: (a) AU Section 530, Dating of the Independent Auditor’s Report; (b) AU Section 560, Subsequent Events; and (c) AU Section 561, -Subsequent Discovery of Facts Existing at the Date of the Auditor’s Report.
-SAS 58 (AU Section 508), Reports on Audited Financial Statements, paragraphs 71–73.

The clarified SAS is effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after December 15, 2012.

The AICPA’s Clarity Project is intended to make existing U.S. generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS) easier to understand, apply, and move toward converging U.S. GAAS with International Standards on Auditing issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. For further information on the AICPA's Clarity Project, see our previously published discussion and analysis in our publication "A Closer Look: For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us"

Government Auditing Standards -- AICPA Publishes Audit Risk Alert
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As discussed above in our Accounting and SEC Summaries, the AICPA has published an Audit Risk Alert, Government Auditing Standards and Circular A-133 Developments-2011. This Alert is intended to provide auditors who perform audits under Government Auditing Standards or the Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments and Non-Profit Organizations, with an overview of recent economic, technical, industry, regulatory, and professional developments that may affect the audits and other engagements they perform. This Alert also can be used by an entity’s internal management to address areas of audit concern.

Some of the documents listed above may not be accessible under your current subscription. For information about upgrading your subscription to include additional content, click here:
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


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GOVERNMENT HEADLINES:
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Service Concession Arrangements -- GASB 60 Discussed
For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us


We have added a Governmental GAAP Update Service that discusses GASB Statement No. 60, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Service Concession Arrangements. GASB 60 addresses how to account for and report service concession arrangements (SCAs), a type of public-private or public-public partnership that state and local governments are increasingly entering into. Topics discussed in this update include:

-Overview of SCAs;
-Accounting and financial reporting for SCAs; and
-Where SCAs prevalent.

Some of the documents listed above may not be accessible under your current subscription. For information about upgrading your subscription to include additional content, click here:

For detail, please contact info@hkcmcpa.us