Summaries / Status

Summary of Statement No. 40
Deposit and Investment Risk Disclosures—an amendment of GASB Statement No. 3
(Issued 3/03)

The deposits and investments of state and local governments are exposed to risks that have the potential to result in losses. This Statement addresses common deposit and investment risks related to credit risk, concentration of credit risk, interest rate risk, and foreign currency risk. As an element of interest rate risk, this Statement requires certain disclosures of investments that have fair values that are highly sensitive to changes in interest rates. Deposit and investment policies related to the risks identified in this Statement also should be disclosed.

The Board reconsidered the disclosures required by Statement No. 3, Deposits with Financial Institutions, Investments (including Repurchase Agreements), and Reverse Repurchase Agreements. Portions of that Statement are modified or eliminated. The custodial credit risk disclosures of Statement 3 are modified to limit required disclosures to:

• Deposits that are not covered by depository insurance and are (a) uncollateralized, (b) collateralized with securities held by the pledging financial institution, or (c) collateralized with securities held by the pledging financial institution’s trust department or agent but not in the depositor-government’s name
   
• Investment securities that are uninsured, are not registered in the name of the government, and are held by either (a) the counterparty or (b) the counterparty’s trust department or agent but not in the government’s name.

Statement 3 disclosures generally referred to as category 1 and 2 deposits and investments are eliminated. However, this Statement does not change the required disclosure of authorized investments or the requirements for reporting certain repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements, and it maintains, with modification, the level-of-detail disclosure requirements of Statement 3.

The provisions of this Statement are effective for financial statements for periods beginning after June 15, 2004. Earlier application is encouraged.

How the Changes in This Statement Improve Financial Reporting

Deposit and investment resources often represent significant assets of governmental, proprietary, and fiduciary funds. These resources are necessary for the delivery of governmental services and programs, or to carry out fiduciary responsibilities. This Statement is designed to inform financial statement users about deposit and investment risks that could affect a government’s ability to provide services and meet its obligations as they become due. The Board believes that there are risks inherent in all deposits and investments, and it believes that the disclosures required by this Statement provide users of governmental financial statements with information to assess common risks inherent in deposit and investment transactions.

The Board adopted fair value accounting for most investments in Statement No. 31, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Certain Investments and for External Investment Pools. Fair value portrays the market’s estimate of the net future cash flows of investments, discounted to reflect both time value and risk. In order to understand the measurement of investments at fair value, the timing of cash flows (including investment time horizons) and investment risks need to be communicated.

This Statement results from the Board’s formal reviews of its existing standards. These reviews—part of the Board’s strategic plan—are designed to evaluate the continuing usefulness of current requirements. The reduction of existing custodial credit risk disclosures follows from federal banking reforms adopted since the release of Statement 3.
 

Unless otherwise specified, pronouncements of the GASB apply to financial reports of all state and local governmental entities, including general purpose governments; public benefit corporations and authorities; public employee retirement systems; and public utilities, hospitals and other healthcare providers, and colleges and universities. Paragraph 2 discusses the applicability of this Statement.