Wiley GAAP 2015: Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles 2015

Chapter 12ASC 270 INTERIM REPORTING

PERSPECTIVE AND ISSUES

   Overview

DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

CONCEPTS, RULES, AND EXAMPLES

   Differentiation between Public and Nonpublic Companies

PART I—REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO ALL REPORTING ENTITIES

   Revenues

   Product Costs and Direct Costs

   Other Costs and Expenses

   Income Taxes

   Fair Value of Financial Instruments

   Discontinued Operations and Extraordinary Items

   Contingencies

   Seasonality

   Accounting Changes

PART II—REQUIREMENTS APPLICABLE TO PUBLIC REPORTING ENTITES

   Quarterly Reporting to the SEC

   Other Sources

PERSPECTIVE AND ISSUES

Subtopic

ASC 270, Interim Reporting, contains one subtopic:

• ASC 270-10, Overall, that provides guidance on
  • Accounting and disclosure issues for reporting on periods less than one year and
  • Minimum disclosure requirements for interim reporting for publicly traded companies.

Overview

The term “interim reporting” refers to financial reporting for periods of less than a year. GAAP does not mandate interim reporting. However, in the United States the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires public companies to file quarterly summarized interim financial data on its Form 10-Q. The level of detail of the information required in those interim reports is substantially less than is specified under GAAP for annual financial statements.

Objective. The objective of interim reporting is to provide current information regarding enterprise performance to existing and prospective investors, ...