GASB publishes implementation guide

NORWALK, Conn., Nov. 13, 2006 — As a part of its mission to develop literature that guides and educates the public about its standards, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has published the 2006–07 edition of its Comprehensive Implementation Guide.

The Comprehensive Implementation Guide consolidates and updates previously issued guides to individual standards and provides current guidance on standards for which no stand-alone guides have been published. The 2006–07 edition includes, for the first time, the freestanding Implementation Guide to Statement 44 on the Statistical Section and the Implementation Guide to Statements 43 and 45 on Other Postemployment Benefits (OPEB).

This year, the guide has been reorganized to better accommodate the addition of new questions and employs a new numbering system designed to make it easier to follow changes from year to year.

The 2006–07 guide provides the answers to new questions about OPEB and a variety of other topics, including:

compensated absences,
the modified approach for reporting infrastructure assets,
asset impairment,
reporting net assets, and
termination benefits.

In addition, the guide revises existing questions and deletes obsolete questions (for example, transition guidance for standards that are now effective). It also features a new chapter that brings together questions on pronouncements not covered in other chapters and that are devoted to a particular pronouncement or subject.

The Comprehensive Implementation Guide (product code GSIG07) can be ordered here or by calling (800) 748-0659.