Financial Accounting Standards Codification Research Assignment

In order to complete this assignment, you will need to access the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Financial Accounting Standards Codification database. The related information for this is posted on Carmen for this course. The Ohio State University copy of the FASB Financial Accounting Standards Codification (FASC) can be accessed. The FASC is the one and only source of the technical GAAP standards. Other sources are no longer accepted as GAAP.

The student log in information is: Username: AAA51083/ Password: Pt3X2Yr (case sensitive). After you sign in - click on "FASB Accounting Standards Codification" on the screen and the database will open. There is a "search" box in the top right of the screen. If you scroll over the topics (Assets, Liabilities etc.) on the left side of the welcome page you will see the subtopics and contents - click on the subtopic and it will take you to the related Codification content.

The class assignment/project that you are responsible for is comprised of researching several of the more current technical topics in accounting and responding to several specific related technical standard questions about the topics.

You can access each topic by either scrolling over the topics and subtopics until you find the related content or topic or by using the search box. The required topics and related questions are listed below.

Submissions:

You will submit BOTH an electronic copy and a hard copy of their assignments:

1) Electronic Copy: The assignment will be submitted online through Carmen, and all submissions will be checked for plagiarism (copying other students' work) using Carmen software. You should not cut and paste or copy another student's work, it will be detected. The electronic copy should be in an MS Word format and submitted on Carmen via the link "Accounting Standards Codification Research Paper" under Dropbox.

2) Hard Copy: A hard copy of the assignment will be submitted before the deadline stated below. Failure to submit the hard copy before due date will result in a grade of zero in the project.

Submission deadline for BOTH copies is the last regular class day

1. FASB Accounting Standards Codification (FASC)

This section deals with certain general background considerations and information related to the FASC and the answers can be found by clicking the "About the Codification" section on the FASC Welcome Page. This section is a good general source of information about the FASC and should be reviewed prior to starting to answer the specific questions set forth in all sections. A PDF of this section has been provided.

The related research questions that you must answer are:

(a) When was the effective date for the FASC Codification?

(b) Did the FASC change prior GAAP?

(c) What were the FASB expectations and goals with respect to the FASC structure and system?

(d) Identify the "topics" used in the ASC?

(e) Are Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) references included in the ASC?

2. Transfer of Receivables FASC 860-10

As the new staff person in your company's treasury department, you have been asked to conduct research related to a proposed transfer of receivables. Your supervisor wants the authoritative sources for the following items that are discussed in the factoring agreement.

Access the FASB Codification home to conduct research using the Codification Research System to prepare responses to the following items. Provide Codification references for your responses.

(a) Identify relevant Codification section that addresses transfers of receivables.

(b) Provide definitions for the following:

(i) Transfer
(ii) Recourse
(iii) Collateral

(c) In the Overview and Background section, find and describe the term "Factoring"

3. Inventories FASC 330-10 - Jones Co. is in a technology-intensive industry. Recently, one of its competitors introduced a new product with technology that might render obsolete some of Jones's inventory. The accounting staff wants to follow the appropriate authoritative literature in determining the accounting for this significant market event.

Access the FASB Codification to conduct research using the Codification Research System to prepare responses to the following items. Provide Codification references for your responses.

(a) Identify the primary authoritative guidance for the accounting for inventories.

(b) List three types of goods that are classified as inventory.

(c) What characteristic will automatically exclude an item from being classified as inventory?

(d) Define "market" as used in the phrase "lower-of-cost-or-market."

4. Asset Impairments FASC 360-10 / 820-10

Matt Holmes recently joined ABC Company as a staff accountant in the controller's office. ABC Company provides warehousing services for companies in several midwestern cities. The location in Dubuque, lowa, has not been performing well due to increased competition and the loss of several customers that have recently gone out of business. Matt's department manager suspects that the plant and equipment may be impaired and wonders whether those assets should be written down. Given the company's prior success, this issue has never arisen in the past, and Matt has been asked to conduct some research on this issue.

Access the FASB Codification at to conduct research using the Codification Research System to prepare responses to the following items. Provide Codification references for your responses.

(a) What is the authoritative guidance for asset impairments? Briefly discuss the scope of the standard (i.e., explain the types of transactions to which the standard applies).

(b) Give several examples of events that would cause an asset to be tested for impairment.

(c) What is the best evidence of fair value? Describe alternate methods of estimating fair value?