FASB Report

FASB Project: ACCT 310

Accounting for Commodities: Analysis of the FASBs Ongoing Inventory Accounting Project.

“The mission of the Financial Accounting Standards Board is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information.” ()

Project Objective

Describe the history, current status, and adoption implications of a Financial Accounting Standards Board ongoing project.

Requirements

The FASB has several ongoing projects that involve the review of standards and which may result in updates and/or revisions of financial accounting standards. You should select an ongoing FASB project after visiting the Technical Plan and Project Updates sections of the FASB Web site.

In a five – to seven-page report, with section headings, you should describe the project, its history (briefly), and the project’s status. The final section of your report should describe the implications of the project’s adoption. For example, a report might discuss a project that would result in accelerating the recognition of certain expenses and require additional disclosures.

Specifically:

• Familiarize yourself with the project, including information on the history and background of the project and its status.
• Using resources at (including free access to U.S. GAAP codification if you register at the Web site as explained), identify the relevant GAAP and current standards involved. Discuss the proposed change (i.e., what will be different?) and the reasons for the change.
• Using at least three different databases in the UMUC library, find at least five sources of information on this FASB project. As you conduct research, identify an actual case that may have provided the impetus for this proposed change, or that would have been influenced by the proposed change. At least two sources should be from scholarly or professional journals. Document your research progress in the research log. A research log template (sample research tracker) and sample research trackers are included in these project instructions. You should explore UMUC Library resources and our LEO Classroom Accounting Toolbox as well as the resources of major accounting firms and organizations.
• Frequently the large Accounting Firms have extensive analyses of FASB topics. It is strongly recommended to become familiar with these websites. Occasionally they will also offer free webinars on FASB topics.
• Prepare an annotated bibliography. UMUC provides training on this topic:
• Identify stakeholders and the impact of the proposed change on each of the stakeholders (comment letters may provide good insight).

Deliverables

Write a five- to seven-page report (APA format, single spaced, standard report size, one-inch margins, and 12-pointfont) presenting the results of your work. Submit your report, research log, and annotated bibliography by the due date, or as otherwise instructed. Cover pages, abstract/ executive summary, table of content if you chose to include or bibliography / reference lists do not count toward page count.

Your topic and research plan must be approved in advance by your professor in the discussion for FASB project. The topic should not be a repeat of your prior work.

Format

Submit your report and annotated bibliography as a Word document. The research tracker can be in either Word or Excel.