New ASU removes references to the FASB Concepts Statements from GAAP

ARTICLE | April 12, 2024

Authored by RSM US LLP

On March 29, 2024, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2024-02, Codification Improvements—Amendments to Remove References to the Concepts Statements (ASU 2024-02). ASU 2024-02 removes various references to the FASB’s Concepts Statements from the FASB’s Accounting Standards Codification (Codification or GAAP). The Concepts Statements are non-authoritative guidance issued by the FASB that provide the objectives, qualitative characteristics and other concepts that govern the development of accounting principles by the FASB.

ASU 2024-02 applies to all reporting entities and updates the Codification by eliminating 16 discrete references to the Concepts Statements across a variety of defined terms and Topics within the Codification (e.g., Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity, Topic 350, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other, Topic 410, Asset Retirement and Environment Obligations, Topic 420, Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations, Topic 805, Business combinations, Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging, Topic 845, Nonmonetary Transactions, and Topic 860, Transfers and Servicing, just to name some). Codification users should review the entirety of ASU 2024-02 to assess any effects that the amendments may have on entities that are within the ASU’s scope.

The FASB does not expect these updates to have a significant effect on current accounting practice. That is because in most cases the amendments to the Codification remove references to Concept Statements that are extraneous and not required to understand or apply the guidance. However, the FASB has provided transition guidance if applying the updated guidance results in accounting changes for some entities.

The amendments in ASU 2024-02 are effective for public business entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024. For all other entities, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2025. Early application of the amended guidance is permitted for all entities, for any fiscal year or interim period for which financial statements have not yet been issued or made available for issuance. If an entity adopts the amendments in an interim period, it must adopt them as of the beginning of the fiscal year that includes that interim period.

An entity can adopt ASU 2024-02 either on a prospective basis to all new transactions recognized on or after the date that the entity first applies the amendments, or retrospectively to the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in which the amendments were first applied.