FASB Issues Accounting Standards Update for Troubled Debt Restructurings
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-02, Receivables (Topic 310): A Creditor’s Determination of Whether a Restructuring is a Troubled Debt Restructuring. The update will improve financial reporting by creating greater consistency in the way generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) is applied for various types of debt restructurings.
The update clarifies which loan modifications constitute troubled debt restructurings. It is intended to assist creditors in determining whether a modification of the terms of a receivable meets the criteria to be considered a troubled debt restructuring, both for purposes of recording an impairment loss and for disclosure of troubled debt restructurings.
“The increase in loan modifications caused by the recent economic downturn led investors, regulators, and practitioners to ask the Board to clarify what types of modifications should be considered troubled debt restructurings for accounting and disclosure purposes,” said FASB Chairman Leslie Seidman. “This update provides that guidance, resulting in greater consistency and transparency in the reporting of these transactions.”
For public companies, the new guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning on or after 15 June 2011, and applies retrospectively to restructurings occurring on or after the beginning of the fiscal year of adoption. For non-public entities, the amendments in the Update are effective for annual periods ending on or after 15 December 2012, including interim periods within that annual period. Early application is permitted.