GASB delays implementation of new standards

In May, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) voted to delay implementation of several new accounting standards. The decision by GASB took effect immediately, and came in response to requests by governments across the country grappling with the coronavirus pandemic.

At the Office of the Washington State Auditor, we were pleased to support the proposal circulated by GASB in an exposure draft. The decision postponed for 18 months the lease statement and implementation guide. It also postponed for one year the effective dates of all other statements and implementation guides that were due to be implemented by state and local governments for fiscal years 2019 and later.

We know that governments of all sizes and types face unique challenges at this time, and we are committed to being responsive to this situation. For more information on how the GASB decision affects BARS Manuals (both GAAP and Cash) and your fiscal report for 2019, visit the Accounting Delays page on our website.

And because we know that you are receiving a lot of information regarding the pandemic, we also have created a COVID-19 Accounting and Reporting and COVID-19 Guidance Toolkit pages on our website to centralize all
of our BARS-related communications.

SAO staff are prepared to help you with any filing questions. Our website's About Filing Online page has many helpful filing resources, including the library of online filing videos.