During 2012, the Financial Accounting Standards Board spent most of its time working on major projects, including a convergence effort with its international counterpart (IASB). “However, none of the major initiatives were finalized,” says a new report on 2012 accounting standards by BDO:
For the most part, the Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs) issued in 2012 address narrow topics, many of which are industry-specific. As such, several significant projects are slated to be exposed for public comment this winter or perhaps completed in 2013. This includes the standards for revenue recognition, leases, financial instruments and other topics.
The 2012 “year-in-review” summarizes where the ongoing major projects stand and what analysts and investors can expect in 2013. It also recaps the new standards that were issued in 2012, “some of which will impact year-end financial statements this reporting season,” according to the BDO analysts, who have attached a comprehensive list of recently issued accounting standards to an appendix.