Financial Reporting

Financial information and technology company Thomson Reuters has released a special report, An Overview of the Revised Accounting Model for Revenue Recognition, which provides useful insights for corporate management teams, shareholders, lenders, analysts, investors, regulators, and accounting firms that utilize revenue to monitor organizations' financial performance and general financial health.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has voted unanimously to approve two Exposure Drafts proposing significant improvements to financial reporting by state and local governments of other postemployment benefits (OPEB), such as retiree health insurance. The GASB also approved a third Exposure Draft that would establish requirements for pensions and pension plans that are outside the scope of the pension standards the GASB released in 2012.

The Ohio Society of CPAs (OSCPA) is commending Representative Jim Renacci (R-Ohio), a CPA, for his introduction of the Federal Financial Statement Transparency Act of 2014 in the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill with bipartisan support that will make for a more accountable and transparent federal government.

The state of privately held companies appears to be relatively stable and strong, looking at their performance as shown in balance sheets and income statements. Statements ended in the past year show that businesses are growing sales at an annual rate of 8 percent, a rate that, despite being slightly lower than a year ago, indicates strong revenue growth.

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF), which oversees FASB and GASB, has issued its 2013 Annual Report, detailing the organization's activities and key issues during the past year.

XBRL US has announced the publication of its new online US GAAP Pension Analyzer. The tool is available for free to public company reporting managers that runs a set of rules against the pension disclosure within an XBRL-formatted financial statement. XBRL US is the nonprofit consortium for XBRL reporting in the US.

The financial information and analysis company Sageworks has made several enhancements to its flagship ProfitCents platform, a suite of web-based financial analysis solutions used by thousands of accountants and business consultants.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued new guidance that improves U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) by more faithfully representing when a company or other organization discontinues its operations.