As companies, both public and private, adopt the new guidance in ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, certain unexpected practice issues have begun to emerge, including how to recognize and measure deferred revenue liabilities assumed in a business combination.
Some software companies argue that a proposed FASB rule on costs associated with moving to cloud platforms would be overly burdensome. Scott Ehrlich from Mind the GAAP shares his views in this Bloomberg article.
An increasing number of software providers are requiring their customers to purchase cloud-based access to the exact same software that was once offered through traditional licenses. U.S. GAAP provides guidance on how companies that license software should account for the costs of acquiring and implementing that software. But similar guidance doesn’t exist on how to account for costs associated with implementing a cloud-based arrangement. The FASB has attempted to fix this omission, and Mind the GAAP has provided feedback in a comment letter.
Mind the GAAP is generally supportive of the proposed amendments to simplify the accounting for nonemployee share-based payment transactions. However, we believe that the proposed standard should address a specific practice issue we see at many of our clients.
Scott Ehrlich from Mind the GAAP shares his views on how the new revenue guidelines in ASC 606 can affect executive compensation programs.