Project Updates
Reporting Discontinued Operations
Last Updated: March 26, 2008 (Updated sections are indicated with an asterisk *)
The staff has prepared this summary of Board decisions for information purposes only. Those Board decisions are tentative and do not change current accounting. Official positions of the FASB are determined only after extensive due process and deliberations.
Project Objective
Decisions Reached at the Last Meeting
*Next Steps
Summary of Decisions Reached to Date
Board/Other Public Meeting Dates
Background Information
Contact Information
Project Objective
The objective of this project is for the Board to develop a converged definition of a discontinued operation with the IASB.
Decisions Reached at the Last Meeting
The Board decided that the guidance on reporting a discontinued operation and the additional disclosures for components that have been or will be disposed of should be separated from the financial statement presentation project.
*Next Steps
The Board plans to meet in the second quarter to confirm the tentative decisions that have been reached to date and discuss the remaining issues that need to be addressed prior to the staff preparing an exposure draft.
The staff expects to issue an exposure draft in the second quarter of 2008.
Summary of Decisions Reached to Date
As part of the financial statement presentation project, the FASB and the IASB tentatively agreed to the following:
- A component of an entity that has been (or will be) disposed of and meets the definition of an operating segment under Statement 131 and IFRS 8 would be reported as a discontinued operation on the face of the financial statements.
- For all components of an entity that have been (or will be) disposed of, including those reported as a discontinued operation, the guidance would require additional financial information to be presented in the notes to the financial statements for all periods presented.
At the April 17, 2007 IASB meeting and the April 18, 2007 FASB meeting, the Boards decided that the guidance on reporting a discontinued operation and the additional disclosures for components that have been or will be disposed of should be separated from the financial statement presentation project.
The Board indicated that it likely would not complete this separate project before the end of the exposure period on the expected financial statement presentation preliminary views document.
Board/Other Public Meeting Dates
The Board meeting minutes are provided for the information and convenience of constituents who want to follow the Board’s deliberations. All of the conclusions reported are tentative and may be changed at future Board meetings. Decisions become final only after a formal written ballot to issue a final Statement, Interpretation, or FSP.
| April 18, 2007 |
Board Meeting—Agenda Decision |
| January 24, 2007 |
Board Meeting—Financial Statement Presentation: Discontinued Operations |
Background Information
As part of the Financial Statement Presentation project, the Board agreed, at its January 24, 2007 Board meeting, to a revised definition of a discontinued operation as well as to additional disclosures that would be required when reporting a component of an entity that was or will be disposed of. At the January 25, 2007 IASB Board meeting, the IASB agreed to converge with the FASB’s revised definition of a discontinued operation.
During the deliberations leading to the revised definition, the Board asked the staff to research the amount of the staff’s and the Board’s time that would be necessary to create a separate project for this issue, effectively removing it from the scope of the Financial Statement Presentation project. In February 2007, the staff received six letters from constituents, including NAREIT, in support of the revised definition and asked the IASB and the FASB to issue the revised guidance on an accelerated basis.
Contact Information
David Leverenz
Industry Fellow
dcleverenz@fasb.org
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