AICPA Drafts Industry Guidance for Rev Rec Standard

By Michael Cohn, Accounting Today

The American Institute of CPAs’ Financial Reporting Executive Committee has drafted a set of implementation issues for nine different industries that it plans to incorporate in a guide to the new revenue recognition standard next year.

The AICPA is asking for comment on the various issues it has identified for the industries. They include aerospace and defense, airlines, broker-dealers, engineering and construction contractors, gaming, health care, investment asset management, not-for-profits and software companies.

“The industry revenue recognition implementation issues will be included in a new Revenue Recognition Guide that will be issued in 2017, and also included in standalone audit and accounting guides for industries that have them,” said AICPA senior technical manager Kim Kushmerick.

he AICPA has set up 16 industry task forces that are developing industry-specific implementation issues that will be part of the upcoming Revenue Recognition Guide

The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued the long-awaited revenue recognition accounting standard in May 2014. It is scheduled to take effect for public companies for annual and interim reporting periods starting Dec. 15, 2017, and for nonpublic entities for annual periods starting Dec. 15, 2018.

Separately, the AICPA’s Auditing Standards Board has issued an exposure draft of a new proposed auditing standard on going concern that would supersede the older one. Proposed Statement on Auditing Standards, The Auditor's Consideration of an Entity's Ability to Continue as a Going Concern will supersede SAS No. 126 of the same title (AICPA, Professional Standards, AU-sec. 570) and amend various sections of SAS No. 122, Statements on Auditing Standards: Clarification and Recodification.

The new standard takes into account provisions of the going concern standards issued by FASB, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board, and the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. It would be effective for audits of financial statements for periods ending on or after Dec. 15, 2017 and for interim periods after that. The comment period on the proposal ends Sept. 5, 2016.