Agenda Requests

HOW DO I SUBMIT AN AGENDA REQUEST?

To submit an agenda request, email your request as a letter to director@fasb.org. Please note Agenda Request in the subject line to expedite the processing. All FASB agenda requests are required to be made available to the public via our website. An archive of previously received agenda requests from 2006 to the present is available below.

If you have further questions about how to submit an agenda request, please email Michael Berryman at mberryman@fasb.org.

WHAT ARE THE CRITERIA THAT FASB USES IN EVALUATING AGENDA REQUESTS?

When we receive an agenda request, we set out to identify some key criteria by asking the following questions:

Is there an identifiable and sufficiently pervasive need to improve GAAP? In other words, what improvement is needed? And what’s the extent to which it affects users, preparers, auditors, and others?
Are there technically feasible solutions and are the perceived benefits of those solutions likely to justify the expected costs of change? This is an important consideration, as we want to make sure we use our time efficiently and effectively on the highest priority projects that we will be able to complete.
Is there an identifiable scope? Can we effectively identify the scope of the potential project?

Decisions about whether the answers to those questions meet the criteria for a potential project is a matter of judgement based on research and analysis performed by the FASB staff.

WHAT INFORMATION SHOULD BE CONTAINED IN AN AGENDA REQUEST?

Please provide contact information including your name and email address with your submission so the FASB staff can follow-up with you on your request.

To help the FASB staff evaluate your request in a timely manner, providing the following information is helpful:

Reference the Accounting Standards Codification or the Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts that is the subject of the request
State in sufficient detail the reason or reasons for the request, the pervasiveness of the issue, and relevant perceived costs and expected benefit considerations
Set forth specific proposals for solution, with reasoning (technical or other as appropriate and practicable) in support of such proposals.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT ONCE I SUBMIT A LETTER?

The staff will acknowledge your agenda request. A copy of your request will then be shared with members of the Board. The Board and staff will review each request. In their consideration of such requests, the Board and staff will seek to determine whether they adequately considered and dealt with the information and reasoning submitted in support of the request when the authoritative standards or financial accounting concepts in question were developed, and whether events and circumstances coming to the FASB’s attention warrant the FASB’s review.

When it determines that adequate consideration may not have been given previously to such information or reasoning or that events and circumstances warrant review, the FASB will consider and, in its discretion, take action it deems appropriate in those circumstances.

Generally, agenda requests are brought to an Agenda Prioritization meeting for public consideration by the Board. The timing of this process can vary depending on the Board’s agenda, availability of staff resources, and the nature of the research and analysis that needs to be done. The staff assigned to the request can provide an update upon request. If you have further questions, please email Michael Berryman at mberryman@fasb.org.

HOW WILL I GET AN ANSWER TO MY REQUEST?

The stakeholder who submitted the written agenda request is notified of its outcome by the staff. If the agenda request will be deliberated at an Agenda Prioritization meeting, the staff will endeavor to notify the stakeholder prior to such meeting.

Any written communications are subject to FASB public file requirements and will be included on the FASB website with the agenda request.