FASB on Dec. 8 released an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that enhances the navigability of the required interim reporting disclosures while clarifying when that guidance is applicable. It also offers added guidance on what disclosures should be offered in interim reporting periods.

“The ASU clarifies the applicability of the interim reporting guidance, the types of interim reporting, and the form and content of interim financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP),” noted FASB Chair Richard R. Jones. “We expect that these clarifications will enhance consistency in interim reporting for all entities.”

The ASU does not change the basic nature of interim reporting or expand or limit current interim disclosure requirements. These were determined by previous boards when the disclosure requirements were first released. Instead, its objective is to clarify the current interim reporting requirements.

The ASU's amendments are following

• Clarifying that the guidance in Topic 270 is applicable to all entities that offer interim financial statements and notes in accordance with GAAP.

• Creating a comprehensive list in FASB Accounting Standards Codification Topic 270 of interim disclosures that are required in interim financial statements and notes in accordance with GAAP.

• Incorporating a disclosure principle modeled after previous SEC guidance that requires entities to disclose events and changes that happen after the end of the most recent fiscal year that have a material effect on the entity.

• Enhancing guidance regarding information that was included in and interim financial statement formats.