Objective:
The objective of this project was to solicit broad stakeholder feedback about the future standard-setting agenda of the FASB to ensure that the FASB continues to allocate its finite resources to achievable standard-setting projects that fulfill its primary mission of improving financial accounting and reporting standards and addressing topics that are of the highest priority to its stakeholders.
Background:
In December 2020, FASB Chair Richard R. Jones announced at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) Conference on U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) Developments (2020 AICPA Conference) that the FASB would undertake an agenda consultation process in 2021 (the 2021 Agenda Consultation) to assist the Board in deciding where to focus its standard-setting efforts going forward. The 2021 Agenda Consultation process is similar to prior efforts in 2016, when the staff issued an Invitation to Comment, Agenda Consultation.
To begin the 2021 Agenda Consultation process, the FASB staff sought input from numerous stakeholder groups and FASB advisory groups, including the Investor Advisory Committee (IAC), the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), the Not-for-Profit Advisory Committee (NAC), the Private Company Council (PCC), and the Small Business Advisory Committee (SBAC), to identify priority areas of improvement to financial reporting. Throughout the first half of 2021, the FASB staff and Board members met with more than 200 stakeholders, approximately one third of which were investors or other financial statement users. In addition to investors, a cross-section of stakeholders participated in that preliminary outreach, including preparers, practitioners, and academics—from public companies, private companies, and not-for-profit entities (NFPs). During those outreach meetings, stakeholders identified more than 40 topics of potential improvements for the FASB to consider as part of its standard-setting efforts.
On the basis of input received from those stakeholders, the FASB staff developed the 2021 Invitation to Comment, Agenda Consultation (2021 ITC), which was issued on June 24, 2021, with comments due on September 22, 2021. The purpose of the 2021 ITC was to solicit broad stakeholder feedback about the future standard-setting agenda of the FASB. The feedback received throughout this process was, and will continue to be, essential in ensuring that the FASB continues to allocate its finite resources to achievable standard-setting projects to fulfill its mission to improve financial accounting and reporting standards and address topics that are of the highest priority to its stakeholders.
The FASB received 522 total responses to the 2021 ITC. 445 of these responses solely addressed the accounting for digital assets recommending that those assets be initially and subsequently measured at fair value. The other 77 responses addressed the 2021 ITC more broadly.
Final Project Update:
On June 29, 2022, the FASB issued the 2021 FASB Agenda Consultation Report. The report summarizes the robust stakeholder feedback obtained during the 2021 agenda consultation project and how that feedback has influenced the Board’s technical and research agendas and standard-setting process as of June 29, 2022.
The feedback from all of the FASB’s stakeholder groups was tremendous and the increased participation of investors in the FASB’s process has already shaped the FASB’s agenda. The top seven most frequently cited investor priorities either are now included on the FASB’s technical agenda or are undergoing further analysis as part of the FASB’s research agenda.
The FASB will continue to consider the feedback received as part of the 2021 ITC during its deliberations on technical and research agenda projects. Additionally, the FASB will continue to engage with all stakeholder types to ensure that its areas of focus fulfill its primary mission of improving financial accounting and reporting standards for investors and addressing topics that are of the highest priority to its stakeholders. The FASB will continue to consider agenda requests as part of its regular standard-setting process.
Thank you to all stakeholders for your participation and feedback. For more information or additional questions, please contact Aarika Friend at afriend@fasb.org or Christopher Roberge at ceroberge@fasb.org.
See the Agenda Consultation project page here.