Technical accounting guides

Complex. Voluminous. Intricate. Challenging.

These are all words used to describe U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).

Add to that their ever-changing nature and it is easy to understand the difficulties financial reporting professionals face when applying them. To help alleviate those difficulties, we have prepared in-depth guides on several particularly complex and challenging accounting topics. Each of these guides provides comprehensive discussion of the applicable U.S. GAAP and many examples.

This page serves as your access point to all of our guides, as well as our Financial Reporting Resource Center, which provides access to many more articles, white papers and webcasts on the latest financial reporting developments.

A Guide to Accounting for Derivatives

Derivative instruments and the related accounting guidance and their financial reporting considerations are complex. We have developed this guide to provide a high-level overview of the accounting for, financial statement presentation and disclosure of derivative instruments. Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 815, Derivatives and Hedging, provides the authoritative guidance for the areas covered by this guide.

A guide to accounting for investments, loans and other receivables

This publication provides an overview of the accounting for investments in debt and equity securities, loans (from a creditor’s perspective) and other receivables.

A guide for accounting for stock compensation

This guide assists companies in understanding and analyzing the accounting for share-based payments with employees and nonemployees under FASB Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 718, “Compensation—Stock Compensation.” ASC 718 addresses the accounting for various types of equity-based awards issued as compensation for goods or services, and includes stock options, restricted stock, restricted stock units, stock appreciation rights, phantom stock and profits interests, as well as any other awards based at least in part on the value of an entity’s equity.

A guide to revenue recognition

Our comprehensive guide includes in-depth discussion and many examples to assist middle-market companies in applying the new revenue recognition model in Topic 606, “Revenue from Contracts with Customers,” of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). ASC 606 provides a robust framework for recognizing revenue, and upon its effective date, replaced almost all pre-existing revenue recognition guidance, including industry-specific guidance, in U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (legacy GAAP).

A guide to lease accounting

Comprehensive discussion and examples to assist middle-market lessees in applying the leases guidance in Topic 842, Leases, of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). The most significant change for lessees under ASC 842 is the recognition of ROU assets and lease liabilities by lessees for most leases, which we discuss and illustrate in detail in our guide.

Accounting for debt and equity instruments in financing transactions

Our publication is intended to be a resource in understanding and analyzing some of the accounting guidance that may be relevant when accounting for debt and equity instruments issued in financing transactions. While often the accounting for these instruments is not considered until after the transactions are finalized, the appropriate upfront consideration of the accounting ramifications can help to minimize the risk of unanticipated and undesirable accounting consequences.

A guide to accounting for business combinations

We developed and designed our guide to help assist middle market companies in accounting for business combinations under Topic 805, Business Combinations, of the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification. Applying the accounting model in Topic 805 is no small undertaking given some of the complexities embedded in that model (e.g., the accounting for contingent consideration requires initially measuring it at fair value, appropriately classifying it as either an asset, liability or equity and subsequently adjusting it to fair value if it is classified as an asset or liability). To help alleviate this complexity, our guide explains the accounting for a business combination in plain English and illustrates many aspects of this accounting with detailed examples and illustrations.

A guide to accounting for debt modifications and restructurings

For a variety of reasons, borrowers and lenders may renegotiate the terms of existing loans or exchange an existing loan for a new loan with the same lender. Naturally, there are accounting implications when the borrower and lender agree to modify or restructure an existing loan or exchange one loan for another. The accounting implications differ depending on whether the borrower’s or lender’s accounting is being considered. Our publication addresses the borrower’s accounting for the modification, restructuring or exchange of a loan.

A guide to hedge accounting upon the adoption of ASU 2017-12

Our publication is intended to provide a high-level overview of hedge accounting based on the hedging subtopics within the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s Accounting Standards Codification, as amended by Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2017-12, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Targeted Improvements to Accounting for Hedging Activities.

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