August 2018 - AHI Associates

The main reason that top talent stay at a firm — you know, really bright, talented people want to stay and grow their careers with an organization — are that they really feel like they are making a difference. I mean, that’s number one. I’ve got to feel like the work that I do has meaning. And that it is benefiting somebody, that it is enriching someone’s life. It’s not just about the money. It’s not that the work I do makes money for us. I mean, that’s important too, but there have to be some contextual elements, like my work is making a difference in somebody’s individual life, or I am making the companies I serve better, I’m saving them money, I’m giving them peace of mind. I mean, I’ve got to have some meaning. And a lot of times, organizations don’t make sure that their people understand the difference that the work they do makes. And so it’s kind of like I work in isolation on this stuff, and I don’t really get what it does for anybody, and it seems sort of clerical, maybe, at first, and rote, even, when I am first starting out in a CPA firm, and if you don’t have me understand the big picture of how this deliverable will impact someone’s life, then I might think that my job doesn’t have meaning, and that might me quit. So having meaning is really critical.

I think also being empowered. I have to believe that you believe in me, and I have to continue to grow and have my boundaries expanded. I need to learn; I need to be given new opportunities as my skills increase and get better. I want you to keep giving me bigger boundaries and giving me bigger challenges. So feeling truly empowered, and sometimes in our relationship, in order for me to stay with your firm, I need to feel like you trust me to make decisions, that you are empowering me to do that.

And then the third thing that causes talent to stay in an organization is I have to feel like I belong. I have to feel like the organization that I belong to mirrors my values, that the people I hang out with, I like, that I trust, I respect them, and that they like me. I have to feel like I belong to that team. And so really meaning, empowerment, and belonging — those are the things that cause people to stay.

Norwalk, CT, June 21, 2018—The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today issued an Accounting Standards Update (ASU) that clarifies and improves the scope and accounting guidance around contributions of cash and other assets received and made by not-for-profit organizations and business enterprises.

“The new ASU clarifies whether certain transactions should be characterized as contributions or exchanges,” stated FASB Chairman Russell G. Golden. “It will improve financial reporting by reducing diversity in practice among not-for-profits and other businesses and organizations that make or receive contributions of cash or other assets—most notably in accounting for grants and similar contracts received by not-for-profits from governments.”

The ASU clarifies and improves current guidance about whether a transfer of assets—or the reduction, settlement, or cancellation of liabilities—is a contribution or an exchange transaction. It provides criteria for determining whether the resource provider is receiving commensurate value in return for the resources transferred which, depending on the outcome, determines whether the organization follows contribution guidance or exchange transaction guidance in the revenue recognition and other applicable standards.

It also provides a more robust framework for determining whether a contribution is conditional or unconditional, and for distinguishing a donor-imposed condition from a donor-imposed restriction. This is important because such classification affects the timing of contribution revenue and expense recognition.

The new ASU does not apply to transfers of assets from governments to businesses.

On Friday, September 14 at 1:00 p.m. EDT, the FASB will host a CPE webinar on the new ASU. Registration and other information about the webinar will be announced on the FASB website in the coming months.

Complete information about effective dates is available in the ASU. The ASU, as well as a FASB in Focus overview and an educational video, is available at www.fasb.org.

About the Financial Accounting Standards Board

Established in 1973, the FASB is the independent, private-sector, not-for-profit organization based in Norwalk, Connecticut, that establishes financial accounting and reporting standards for public and private companies and not-for-profit organizations that follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The FASB is recognized by the Securities and Exchange Commission as the designated accounting standard setter for public companies. FASB standards are recognized as authoritative by many other organizations, including State Boards of Accountancy and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). The FASB develops and issues financial accounting standards through a transparent and inclusive process intended to promote financial reporting that provides useful information to investors and others who use financial reports. The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) supports and oversees the FASB. For more information, visit www.fasb.org.

Factors keeping top talent on board

FASB CLARIFIES AND IMPROVES GUIDANCE FOR NOT-FOR-PROFIT GRANT AND CONTRIBUTION ACCOUNTING