FASB improves disclosures based on SEC’s simplification initiative

FASB disclosure improvements

The FASB has issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2023-06, Disclosure Improvements: Codification Amendments in Response to the SEC’s Disclosure Update and Simplification Initiative, that incorporates certain U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) disclosure requirements into the FASB Accounting Standards Codification™. The amendments in the ASU are expected to clarify or improve disclosure and presentation requirements of a variety of Codification Topics, allow users to more easily compare entities subject to the SEC’s existing disclosures with those entities that were not previously subject to the requirements, and align the requirements in the Codification with the SEC’s regulations.

SEC disclosure updates and simplification initiative

In SEC Release No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification, issued August 17, 2018, the SEC referred certain of its disclosure requirements that overlap with, but require incremental information to, generally accepted accounting principles to the FASB for potential incorporation into the Codification. 

The ASU incorporates into the Codification 14 of the 27 disclosures referred by the SEC. They modify the disclosure or presentation requirements of a variety of Topics in the Codification. The requirements are relatively narrow in nature. Some of the amendments represent clarifications to, or technical corrections of, the current requirements. Because of the variety of Topics amended, a broad range of entities may be affected by one or more of those amendments.

Effective dates for amendments

For entities subject to the SEC’s existing disclosure requirements and for entities required to file or furnish financial statements with or to the SEC in preparation for the sale of or for purposes of issuing securities that are not subject to contractual restrictions on transfer, the effective date for each amendment will be the date on which the SEC removes that related disclosure from its rules. For all other entities, the amendments will be effective two years later. However, if by June 30, 2027, the SEC has not removed the related disclosure from its regulations, the amendments will be removed from the Codification and not become effective for any entity.

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