Project Update
Reporting Discontinued Operations
Last updated on May 3, 2013. Please refer to the Current Technical Plan for information about the expected release dates of exposure documents and final standards.
(Updated sections are indicated with an asterisk *)
This project update summarizes the project activities and decisions of the IASB and the FASB (Boards). It was prepared by the staff and is for the information and convenience of their constituents. All decisions of the Boards are tentative, may change at future Board meetings, and do not change current accounting and reporting requirements. Decisions of the Boards become final only after extensive due process.
Project Objective
Due Process Documents
*Decisions Reached at the Last Meeting
*Summary of Decisions Reached to Date
*Next Steps
Board/Other Public Meeting Dates
Background Information
Contact Information
Project Objective
The primary objective of the project is to improve the definition and reporting of discontinued operations. Some stakeholders have said that too many disposals of assets qualify for discontinued operations presentation. This results in financial statements that are not decision useful for users and in higher costs for preparers. The project will also enhance convergence of the FASB’s and the IASB’s reporting requirements for discontinued operations.
Due Process Documents
The FASB issued an Exposure Draft, Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205): Reporting Discontinued Operations on April 2, 2013. The comment period ends on August 30, 2013.
Exposure Draft
The FASB and IASB previously issued a joint Exposure Draft, Amending the Criteria for Reporting a Discontinued Operation, in September, 2008. The comment period was 120 days, and it ended on January 23, 2009.
*Decisions Reached at the Last Meeting (March 13, 2013)
See minutes below.*Summary of Decisions Reached to Date (As of April 2, 2013)
See Exposure Draft.*Next Steps
The Board will begin redeliberations of the Exposure Draft after the comment period has ended.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 standard.
| March 13, 2013 | FASB Board Meeting—The Board deliberated whether to retain the cash-generating unit concept in the proposed definition of discontinued operation or to replace the cash-generating unit concept with the current definition of component of an entity in U.S. GAAP. |
| December 12, 2012 | FASB Board Meeting—The Board deliberated the proposed disclosure requirements for public and nonpublic entities, disposals of subsidiaries in which the parent entity retains a noncontrolling interest, and whether the FASB should reaffirm its prior decision to issue a proposed Update on reporting discontinued operations and, if so, the length and timing of the comment period. |
| February 3, 2010 | FASB Board Meeting—Scope of proposed Accounting Standards Update on FASB Accounting Standards Codification™ Subtopic 205-20, Presentation of Financial Statements—Discontinued Operations |
| December 17, 2009 | Joint FASB and IASB Board Meeting—Definition and Disclosures of a Discontinued Operation |
| October 26, 2009 | Joint FASB and IASB Board Meeting—Alternatives for a definition of a discontinued operation |
| August 26, 2009 | FASB Board Meeting—Discussion of the user feedback received |
| July 21, 2009 | IASB Board Meeting—The way forward with the project |
| July 23, 2008 | Board Meeting—Board directed the staff to proceed to a draft of a proposed FSP |
| May 14, 2008 | Board Meeting—Decisions related to the definition of Discontinued Operations, required disclosures for all components of an entity that have been (or will be) disposed of, effective date and transition, and proposed FSP comment period |
| April 18, 2007 | Board Meeting—Agenda Decision |
| January 24, 2007 | Board Meeting—Financial Statement Presentation: Discontinued Operations |
Background Information
At its January 24, 2007 meeting on the financial statement presentation project, the Board agreed to revise the definition of a discontinued operation in FASB Statement No. 144, Accounting for the Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets. It also decided to require an entity to provide additional disclosures when reporting the disposal (or future disposal) of a component of the entity. 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 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. In April 2007, the FASB and IASB Boards agreed to address the guidance for reporting discontinued operations and any related disclosure issues separately from the financial statement presentation project.
Contact Information
Phil Hood
Project Manager
prhood@fasb.org
Callie Haley
Postgraduate Technical Assistant
cmhaley@fasb.org