STATEMENT NO. 100
Accounting Changes and Error Corrections—An Amendment of GASB Statement No. 62
(ISSUED 06/22)
The primary objective of this Statement is to enhance accounting and financial reporting requirements for accounting changes and error corrections to provide more understandable, reliable, relevant, consistent, and comparable information for making decisions or assessing accountability.
This Statement defines accounting changes as changes in accounting principles, changes in accounting estimates, and changes to or within the financial reporting entity and describes the transactions or other events that constitute those changes. As part of those descriptions, for (1) certain changes in accounting principles and (2) certain changes in accounting estimates that result from a change in measurement methodology, a new principle or methodology should be justified on the basis that it is preferable to the principle or methodology used before the change. That preferability should be based on the qualitative characteristics of financial reporting—understandability, reliability, relevance, timeliness, consistency, and comparability. This Statement also addresses corrections of errors in previously issued financial statements.
This Statement prescribes the accounting and financial reporting for (1) each type of accounting change and (2) error corrections. This Statement requires that (a) changes in accounting principles and error corrections be reported retroactively by restating prior periods, (b) changes to or within the financial reporting entity be reported by adjusting beginning balances of the current period, and (c) changes in accounting estimates be reported prospectively by recognizing the change in the current period. The requirements of this Statement for changes in accounting principles apply to the implementation of a new pronouncement in absence of specific transition provisions in the new pronouncement. This Statement also requires that the aggregate amount of adjustments to and restatements of beginning net position, fund balance, or fund net position, as applicable, be displayed by reporting unit in the financial statements.
This Statement requires disclosure in notes to financial statements of descriptive information about accounting changes and error corrections, such as their nature. In addition, information about the quantitative effects on beginning balances of each accounting change and error correction should be disclosed by reporting unit in a tabular format to reconcile beginning balances as previously reported to beginning balances as restated.
Furthermore, this Statement addresses how information that is affected by a change in accounting principle or error correction should be presented in required supplementary information (RSI) and supplementary information (SI). For periods that are earlier than those included in the basic financial statements, information presented in RSI or SI should be restated for error corrections, if practicable, but not for changes in accounting principles.
Effective Date and Transition
The requirements of this Statement are effective for accounting changes and error corrections made in fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2023, and all reporting periods thereafter. Earlier application is encouraged.
How the Changes in This Statement Will Improve Financial Reporting
The requirements of this Statement will improve the clarity of the accounting and financial reporting requirements for accounting changes and error corrections, which will result in greater consistency in application in practice. In turn, more understandable, reliable, relevant, consistent, and comparable information will be provided to financial statement users for making decisions or assessing accountability. In addition, the display and note disclosure requirements will result in more consistent, decision useful, understandable, and comprehensive information for users about accounting changes and error corrections.
How The Board Considered Costs And Benefits In The Development Of This Statement
One of the principles guiding the Board’s setting of standards for accounting and financial reporting is the assessment of expected benefits and perceived costs. The Board strives to determine that its standards address significant user needs and that the costs incurred through the application of its standards, compared with possible alternatives, are justified when compared to the expected overall public benefit. The Board believes that the expected benefits of this Statement—more understandable, reliable, relevant, consistent, and comparable information about accounting changes and error corrections—are significant and justify the perceived costs.
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.