Journal Entries

GASB Performance Measures: Technical Inquiry Activities

The GASB staff spends a significant amount of time responding to questions (technical inquiries) from its constituents about GASB standards. The following performance measures assess a part of the GASB’s strategic plan objective to “guide and educate constituents about the content and value of the GASB’s reporting requirements and proposed standards.”

Time Required to Complete Inquiries

GASB response times to complete technical inquiries submitted to the GASB in 2010 exceeded goals for responses in the less than one- , two- , and three-week categories, as indicated in the table below. The goal of completing all technical inquiries in less than 4 weeks was not met, though just less than 1 percent of the inquiries during 2010 required 4 or more weeks to complete. There are a variety of reasons why inquiries can take four weeks or more to complete. Some of the more complex inquiries sometimes lead to an extended dialogue between the inquirer and the GASB staff to obtain or clarify specific facts or circumstances and may therefore take longer to resolve.

Time Until First Contact Is Made with the Inquirer

Although it may take longer to provide a final answer to an inquirer, the staff actually responds within days of receiving an inquiry in order to acknowledge receipt of the inquiry and to gather additional information. The GASB’s goal is to make initial contact with all inquirers within one week. During 2010, contact was made within a day for more than 65 percent of the inquiries. Contact was made within 7 days in nearly 93 percent of the inquiries received. The GASB is endeavoring to increase those percentages in 2011.

Inquirer Satisfaction with Understandability, Helpfulness, and Promptness

Constituent satisfaction with the GASB’s technical inquiry activities remained high in 2010, substantially exceeding the GASB’s goals. This is significant considering that the volume of technical inquiries increased by more than 7 percent over the previous year. Overall satisfaction reached nearly 95 percent. While certainly a respectable response, it represents a 1 percent decrease from the 2009 overall satisfaction level. The GASB is endeavoring to increase overall satisfaction in 2011.

How to Submit a Technical Inquiry

The answers to many general questions (for example, status of a current GASB project or effective date of a Statement) can be found on the GASB’s website, www.gasb.org, or by contacting staff members via email.

Inquirers with questions that include requests for interpretation of accounting standards are encouraged to use the GASB’s web-based technical inquiry system at www.gasb.org. The system can be accessed by clicking the Technical Inquiry System menu item under the Technical Issues tab on the GASB website.