Official Releases: GASB 42.

Space consideratiosn prevent publishing here the appendices to GASB Statement no. 42. Since the appendices often are important to understanding GASB statements, readers are advised to obtain complete copies. For additional copies of GASB statements and/or information on applicable prices and discount rates, contact the GASB order department, 401 Merritt, 7, P. O. Box 5116, Norwalk, Connecticut 06856-5116. Telephone, 800-748-0659.

Statement No. 42 of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board--Accounting and Financial Reporting for Impairment of Capital Assets and for Insurance Recoveries

SUMMARY

This Statement establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for impairment of capital assets. A capital asset is considered impaired when its service utility has declined significantly and unexpectedly. This Statement also clarifies and establishes accounting requirements for insurance recoveries.

Governments are required to evaluate prominent events or changes in circumstances affecting capital assets to determine whether impairment of a capital asset has occurred. Such events or changes in circumstances that may be indicative of impairment include evidence of physical damage, enactment or approval of laws or regulations or other changes in environmental factors, technological changes or evidence of obsolescence, changes in the manner or duration of use of a capital asset, and construction stoppage. A capital asset generally should be considered impaired if both (a) the decline in service utility of the capital asset is large in magnitude and (b) the event or change in circumstance is outside the normal life cycle of the capital asset.

Impaired capital assets that will no longer be used by the government should be reported at the lower of carrying value or fair value. Impairment losses on capital assets that will continue to be used by the government should be measured using the method that best reflects the diminished service utility of the capital asset. Impairment of capital assets with physical damage generally should be measured using a restoration cost approach, an approach that uses the estimated cost to restore the capital asset to identify the portion of the historical cost of the capital asset that should be written off. Impairment of capital assets that are affected by enactment or approval of laws or regulations or other changes in environmental factors or are subject to technological changes or obsolescence generally should be measured using a service units approach, an approach that compares the service units provided by the capital asset before and after the impairment event or change in circumstance. Impairment of capital assets that are subject to a change in manner or duration of use generally should be measured using a service units approach, as described above, or using deflated depreciated replacement cost, an approach that quantifies the cost of the service currently being provided by the capital asset and converts that cost to historical cost.

Impairment losses should be reported in accordance with the guidance in paragraphs 41 through 46, 55, 56, 101, and 102 of Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements--and Management's Discussion and Analysis--for State and Local Governments, and paragraphs 19 through 24 of Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 30, Reporting the Results of Operations--Reporting the Effects of Disposal of a Segment of a Business, and Extraordinary, Unusual and Infrequently Occurring Events and Transactions. If not otherwise apparent from the face of the financial statements, the description, amount, and financial statement classification of impairment losses should be disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. If evidence is available to demonstrate that the impairment will be temporary, the capital asset should not be written down.

Impaired capital assets that are idle should be disclosed, regardless of whether the impairment is considered permanent or temporary.

An insurance recovery associated with events or changes in circumstances resulting in impairment of a capital asset should be netted with the impairment loss. Restoration or replacement of the capital asset using the insurance recovery should be reported as a separate transaction. Insurance recoveries should be disclosed if not apparent from the face of the financial statements. Insurance recoveries for circumstances other than impairment of capital assets should be reported in the same manner.

The provisions of this Statement are effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2004. Earlier application is encouraged.

How the Changes in This Statement Improve Financial Reporting

This Statement improves financial reporting because it requires governments to report the effects of capital asset impairments in their financial statements when they occur rather than as a part of the ongoing depreciation expense for the capital asset or upon disposal of the capital asset. Users of financial statements will better understand when impairments have occurred and what their financial impact is on the government. This Statement also enhances comparability of financial statements between governments by requiring all governments to account for insurance recoveries in the same manner.

Unless otherwise specified, pronouncements of the GASB apply to financial reports of all state and local governmental entities, including general purpose governments; public benefit corporations and authorities; public employee retirement systems; and public utilities, hospitals and other healthcare providers, and colleges and universities. Paragraph 3 discusses the applicability of this Statement.

CONTENTS

Introduction/1-2
Standards of Governmental Accounting and
  Financial Reporting/3-22
    Scope and Applicability of This Statement/3-4
    Definition of Impairment/5-6
    Assessment of Impairment/7-11
     Identification of Events or Changes in
       Circumstances That May Indicate
       Impairment/8
     Indicators of Impairment/8
     Impairment Test/11
    Measurement of Impairment/12-16
     Capital Assets That Will Continue to Be
      Used by the Government/12-15
     Capital Assets That Will No Longer Be
      Used by the Government and Construction
      Stoppage/16
    Reporting Impairment Losses/17
    Permanent and Temporary Impairments/18
    Capital Assets That Do Not Meet the
     Impairment Test/19
    Disclosure of Idle Impaired Capital
     Assets/20
    Insurance Recoveries/21-22
Effective Date and Transition/23
Appendix A: Background/24-28
Appendix B: Basis for Conclusions/29-65
Appendix C: Illustrations/66
Appendix D: Flowchart for Evaluating and
  Measuring Impairment of Capital Assets/67
Appendix E: Summary of Indicators and Methods
  of Measurements/68
Appendix F: Codification Instructions/69

INTRODUCTION

1. Statement No. 34, Basic Financial Statements--and Management's Discussion and Analysis--for State and Local Governments, requires capital assets, including infrastructure assets, to be reported in the statement of net assets. Statement 34 also requires that capital assets (with the exception of inexhaustible assets and those accounted for using the modified approach) be depreciated over their estimated useful lives. Current standards do not have a specific requirement to reduce the carrying value of a capital asset other than through the application of depreciation. The GASB also has not previously established requirements for accounting and reporting should these assets become impaired. Therefore, the primary objective of this Statement is to establish accounting and reporting requirements for the impairment of capital assets.

2. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Interpretation No. 30, Accounting for Involuntary Conversions of Nonmonetary Assets to Monetary Assets, an interpretation of APB Opinion No. 29, provides guidance on accounting for insurance recoveries and was applicable to government-wide and proprietary fund financial statements. Authoritative guidance for insurance recoveries, however, did not exist for governmental funds. Therefore, another objective of this Statement is to establish and clarify guidance for accounting for insurance recoveries for all funds and activities.

STANDARDS OF GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING AND FINANCIAL REPORTING

Scope and Applicability of This Statement

3. This Statement establishes guidance for accounting and reporting for the impairment of capital assets (1) and for insurance recoveries. This Statement applies to all state and local governments. (2)

4. The guidance related to accounting and reporting for impairment of assets applies to capital assets. (3) The guidance related to insurance recoveries applies to all such recoveries, not just those associated with impairment of capital assets.

Definition of Impairment

5. Asset impairment is a significant, unexpected decline in the service utility of a capital asset. Governments generally hold capital assets because of the services the capital assets provide; consequently, capital asset impairments affect the service utility of the assets. The events or changes in circumstances that lead to impairments are not considered normal and ordinary. That is, at the time the capital asset was acquired, the event or change in circumstance would not have been expected to occur during the useful life of the capital asset.

6. The service utility of a capital asset is the usable capacity that at acquisition was expected to be used to provide service, as distinguished from the level of utilization, which is the portion of the usable capacity currently being used. The current usable capacity of a capital asset may be less than its original usable capacity due to the normal or expected decline in useful life or to impairing events or changes in circumstances, such as physical damage, obsolescence, enactment or approval of laws or regulations or other changes in environmental factors, or change in manner or duration of use. Usable service capacity may be different from maximum service capacity in circumstances in which surplus capacity is needed for safety, economic, or other reasons. Decreases in utilization and existence of or increases in surplus capacity that are not associated with a decline in service utility are not considered to be impairment.

Assessment of Impairment

7. The determination of whether a capital asset is impaired as described in paragraph 5 is a two-step process of (a) identifying potential impairments and (b) testing for impairment. Capital assets that have potential for meeting the definition of impairment are identified through events or changes in circumstances that are prominent and that denote the presence of indicators of impairment, such as those described in paragraphs 9 and 10. For capital assets so identified, a test of impairment as described in paragraph 11 should be performed to determine whether the circumstance or change in condition results in an impairment as defined in paragraph 5.

Identification of Events or Changes in Circumstances That May Indicate Impairment

8. The events or changes in circumstances affecting a capital asset that may indicate impairment are prominent--that is, conspicuous or known to the government. Absent any such events or changes in circumstances, governments are not required to perform additional procedures to identify potential impairment of capital assets beyond those already performed as part of their normal operations. The events or circumstances that may indicate impairment generally are expected to have prompted discussion by the governing board, management, or the media.

Indicators of Impairment

9. Impairment is indicated when events or changes in circumstances suggest that the service utility of the capital asset may have significantly and unexpectedly declined. Common indicators of impairment include:

a. Evidence of physical damage, such as for a building damaged by fire or flood, when the level of damage is such that restoration efforts are needed to restore service utility

b. Enactment or approval of laws or regulations or other changes in environmental factors, such as new water quality standards that a water treatment plant does not meet (and cannot be modified to meet)

c. Technological development or evidence of obsolescence, such as that related to a major piece of diagnostic or research equipment (for example, a magnetic resonance imaging machine or a scanning electron microscope) that is rarely used because newer equipment provides better service

d. A change in the manner or expected duration of use of a capital asset, (4) such as closure of a school prior to the end of its useful life

e. Construction stoppage, such as stoppage of construction of a building due to lack of funding.

10. A change in demand for the services of a capital asset is not considered a separate indicator of impairment. However, changes in demand may be caused by or associated with the indicators listed in paragraph 9, and capital as sets in these circumstances should be tested for impairment. For example, decreased demand for the processing services of a mainframe computer because former users of the mainframe have transitioned to PC- and server-based systems should be considered a change in demand associated with an indicator of impairment--evidence of obsolescence--and the mainframe should be tested for impairment. However, a decrease in demand resulting from the conclusion of a special project requiring large amounts of processing time on a mainframe computer that runs other applications should not be considered a change in demand associated with an indicator of impairment, and a test of impairment is not required. A decrease in school enrollment is another example of a change in demand. If this decrease in enrollment prompts management to close a school, a change in manner or duration of use has also resulted and a test for impairment should be performed. If, however, the decrease in enrollment results in the school's changing from an overcrowded condition to one in which classroom sizes are now below the state-required maximum and is not associated with another indicator of impairment, a test for impairment is not required.

Impairment Test

11. A capital asset identified through the processes described in paragraphs 7 through 10 should be tested for impairment by determining whether both of the following two factors are present:

a. The magnitude of the decline in service utility is significant. The expenses associated with continued operation and maintenance (including depreciation) or costs associated with restoration of the capital asset are significant in relationship to the current service utility. In circumstances other than those involving physical damage, management's action to address the situation is all indication that the expenses are too high in relation to the benefit.

b. The decline in service utility is unexpected. The restoration cost or other impairment circumstance is not a part of the normal life cycle of the capital asset. Management is not expected to foresee with precision the useful life of a capital asset or the service utility, throughout its useful life. However, there is a reasonable range of expectations about the service utility and useful life at the time of acquisition.

Measurement of Impairment

Capital Assets That Will Continue to Be Used by the Government

12. For impaired capital assets that will continue to be used by the government, the amount of impairment--the portion of historical cost that should be written off--should be measured by the method described below that most appropriately reflects the decline in service utility of the capital asset. The methods for measuring impairment are:

a. Restoration cost approach. Under this approach, the amount of impairment is derived from the estimated costs to restore (5) the utility, of the capital asset. The estimated restoration cost can be converted to historical cost either by restating the estimated restoration cost using an appropriate cost index or by applying a ratio of estimated restoration cost over estimated replacement cost to the carrying value of the capital asset.

b. Service units approach. This approach isolates the historical cost of the service utility of the capital asset that cannot be used due to the impairment event or change in circumstances. The amount of impairment is determined by evaluating the service provided by the capital asset--either maximum estimated service units or total estimated service units throughout the life of the capital asset--before and after the event or change in circumstance.

c. Deflated depreciated replacement cost approach. This approach replicates the historical cost of the service produced. A current cost for a capital asset to replace the current level of service is estimated. This estimated current cost is depreciated to reflect the fact that the capital as set is not new, and then is deflated to convert it to historical cost dollars.

13. Impairments resulting from physical damage generally should be measured using a restoration cost approach.

14. Impairments resulting from enactment or approval of laws or regulations or other changes in environmental factors or from technological development or obsolescence generally should be measured using a service units approach.

15. Impairments identified from a change in manner or duration of use generally should be measured using deflated depreciated replacement cost or using a service units approach.

Capital Assets That Will No Longer Be Used by the Government and Construction Stoppage

16. Impaired capital assets that will no longer be used by the government should be reported at the lower of carrying value or fair value. Capital assets impaired from construction stoppage also should be reported at the lower of carrying value or fair value.

Reporting Impairment Losses

17. Unless the impairment is considered temporary as described in paragraph 18, the loss (6) from impairment should be reported in the statement of activities and statement of revenues, expenses, and changes in fund net assets, if appropriate, as a program or operating expense, special item, or extraordinary item in accordance with the guidance in paragraphs 41 through 46, 55, 56, 101, and 102 of Statement 34 and paragraphs 19 through 24 of Accounting Principles Board Opinion No. 30, Reporting the Results of Operations--Reporting the Effects of Disposal of a Segment of a Business, and Extraordinary Unusual and Infrequently Occurring Events and Transactions. Impairment losses appropriately reported as program expense generally should be reported as a direct expense of the program that uses or used the impaired capital asset. Impairment loss should be reported as indicated regardless of whether the capital asset is being depreciated individually or as part of a composite group. If not otherwise apparent from the face of the financial statements, a general description, the amount, and the financial statement classification (for example, public works or instruction) of the impairment loss should be disclosed in the notes to the financial statements.

Permanent and Temporary Impairments

18. Generally, an impairment should be considered permanent. In certain circumstances involving capital assets impaired through enactment or approval of laws or regulations or other changes in environmental factors, change in technology or obsolescence, change in manner or duration of use, or construction stoppage, however, evidence may be available to demonstrate that the impairment will be temporary. In such circumstances, the capital asset should not be written down. For example, a middle school that is not being used due to declining enrollment should not be written down if evidence, such as future middle school enrollment projections substantiated by current elementary school enrollment, residential development data, birth rates, or other economic indicators, demonstrates that the closing of the middle school will be temporary. Impairment losses recognized in accordance with this Statement should not be reversed in future years, even if the events or circumstances causing the impairment have changed.

Capital Assets That Do Not Meet the Impairment Test

19. If an event or circumstance indicates that a capital asset may be impaired, but the test of impairment determines that impairment has not occurred, the estimates used in depreciation calculations--remaining estimated useful life and salvage value--should be reevaluated and changed, if necessary. (7)

Disclosure of Idle Impaired Capital Assets

20. The carrying amount of impaired capital assets that are idle at year-end should be disclosed, regardless of whether the impairment is considered permanent or temporary.

Insurance Recoveries (8)

21. In governmental fund financial statements, restoration or replacement of an impaired capital asset should be reported as a separate transaction from the associated insurance recovery, which is reported as an other financing source or extraordinary item, as appropriate. In governmental and business-type activities in government-wide financial statements and in proprietary fund financial statements, restoration or replacement of an impaired capital asset should be reported as a separate transaction from the impairment loss and associated insurance recovery. The impairment loss should be reported net of the associated insurance recovery when the recovery and loss occur in the same year. Insurance recoveries reported in subsequent years should be reported as a program revenue, nonoperating revenue, or extraordinary item, as appropriate. Insurance recoveries should be recognized only when realized or realizable. For example, if an insurer has admitted or acknowledged coverage, all insurance recovery would be realizable. If the insurer has denied coverage, the insurance recovery generally would not be realizable. If not otherwise apparent in the financial statements, the amount and financial statement classification of insurance recoveries should be disclosed.

22. Insurance recoveries other than those related to impairment of capital assets, such as for theft or embezzlement of cash or other monetary assets, should be accounted for as described in paragraph 21.

EFFECTIVE DATE AND TRANSITION

23. The requirements of this Statement are effective for financial statements for periods beginning after December 15, 2004. Earlier application is encouraged. Accounting changes adopted to conform to the provisions of this Statement should be applied retroactively by restating financial statements, if practical, for all prior periods presented. If restatement is not practical, the cumulative effect of applying this Statement, if any, should be reported as a restatement of beginning net assets, fund balances, or fund equity, as appropriate, for the earliest period restated. In the period this Statement is first applied, the financial statements should disclose the nature of any restatement and its effect. Also, the reason for not restating prior periods presented should he explained. Previously reported impairments, if any, resulted in a new cost basis for the impaired capital asset and should not be restated.

The provisions of this Statement need not be applied to immaterial items.

This Statement was issued by the affirmative vote of five members of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. Messrs. Allen and Mazur dissented.

Messrs. Allen and Mazur dissent on the issue of not providing the opportunity for business-type activities and enterprise funds to measure impairment of capital assets using a cash flows approach.

The GASB and its predecessor organization have consistently recognized the differences between those activities of a government that are primarily financed by taxes (governmental activities/funds) and those activities that are generally self-supporting through charges for services (business-type activities/enterprise funds). Governmental financial reporting standards in Statement 34, as well as prior standards, require business-type activities and enterprise funds to report on an economic resources measurement focus and an accrual basis of accounting.

NCGA Statement 1, Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting Principles, paragraph 117, as amended, states:

      ... Proprietary fund revenues should be
   reported by major sources, and expenses
   should be classified in essentially the same
   manner as similar business organizations or
   activities, unless that classification conflicts
   with or contradicts GASB pronouncements,
   as discussed in Statement No. 20, Accounting
   and Financial Reporting for Proprietary Funds
   and Other Governmental Entities That Use
   Proprietary Fund Accounting. Such classification
   is appropriate in view of the nature of
   these funds, and facilitates comparison of
   their operating results with those of like organizations
   in both the public and private
   sectors. Further, widely accepted account
   classifications are available for several types
   of enterprise and other commercial-type
   activities.

   GASB Statement 34, paragraph 66, states:
      Proprietary fund reporting focuses on the
   determination of operating income, changes
   in net assets (or cost recovery), financial position,
   and cash flows. The proprietary fund
   category includes enterprise and internal service
   funds.

Cash flows statements are required for enterprise funds activities, and these activities are required to report operating and nonoperating activities separately. These economically focused accounting requirements exist for all enterprise funds, whether they are self-supporting or if the government does or is willing to subsidize the activity because it is a public benefit.

Messrs. Allen and Mazur believe that the measurement of impairment for capital assets of business type activities and enterprise funds should be consistent with the economic focus of the financial statement presentation. They believe that the harmonization between a cash flows approach to reporting impairment and the economic focus of financial presentation for business-type activities and enterprise funds is more important than the harmonization of the approach to measurement of impairment between capital assets of governmental activities generally financed through takes, which are not required to present cash flows statements, and business-type activities and enterprise fund capital assets.

Messrs. Allen and Mazur believe that in most cases an impairment that affects service capacity would also affect the cash flows of business-type activities and enterprise funds. However, they believe that cash flows related impairments of business-type activities and enterprise fund capital assets should be reflected in their financial statements even if there are no declines in service utility and, correspondingly, that a business-type activity or enterprise fund that experiences a decline in service utility that does not economically impact the enterprise's ability to recover its investment in capital assets should not be required to write down its capital assets.

This cash flows approach to reporting impairment of capital assets is consistent with accounting standards of for-profit and not-for-profit business organizations and governmental business enterprises throughout the world. One reason for adding this project to the GASB technical agenda at the time it was added was that it provided the opportunity to work with the Public Sector Committee (PSC) of the International Federation of Accountants. Although there was general harmonization with the measurement of the impairment of general governmental capital assets, the PSC has proposed to measure the asset impairment for governmental business enterprise capital assets using a cash flows approach consistent with existing standards for commercial enterprises.

Messrs. Allen and Mazur are not aware of financial statement user concerns with the current reporting of asset impairment by the business-type activities and enterprise funds that currently are following this cash flows approach.

They also believe the GASB is missing an opportunity for more consistent reporting by certain special entities with similar operations in both the public and private sectors.

Mr. Allen also does not support the conclusion that events that reverse the circumstances that initially resulted in the write-down of impaired capital assets should not be recognized in a government's financial statements.

Mr. Allen also notes that traditional accounting theory, particularly as it is applied to a historical cost model of reporting, specifies that the basis for reporting assets should be written down for certain events but should not be written back up if those events are reversed. For example, inventories written down to market value if lower than the cost basis of those inventories are not permitted to be written back up if the market value increases above the cost basis of these inventories. This traditional accounting theory has been applied by the GASB in this standard for impairment of capital assets. Such assets written down because the government does not have the evidence to demonstrate that an impairment will be temporary are not permitted to be written back up to historical cost if, in fact, it turns out that the impairment was temporary

For example, an elementary school is closed and written off as a result of financial duress when the town's main employer leaves leading to a decline in population and school enrollment. If events and circumstances were to change several years later and the school were reopened, under this Statement the write-off of the school building would not be permitted to be reversed because at the time of closure the government did not have evidence to demonstrate that the closure would be temporary.

Another example would be the enactment or approval of a state law, such as one requiring all local school buildings to be earthquake-proof or vacated within a three-year period. The enactment of such a law may result in the local school district's recording capital asset impairment write-offs in the year the law was enacted for schools they believe will not be able to be brought up to the new earthquake standards. However, if the state legislature subsequently eases the standards such that local school districts are able to modify the buildings rather than close them, this Statement would not allow the reversal of the original write-off of the buildings based on the law as originally passed.

Mr. Allen believes that an accounting standard is not being faithfully representative if that standard only permits or requires one-way adjustments. Accordingly, Mr. Allen does not support the application of this "conservative" accounting theory to the GASB's proposed capital asset impairment standard. Rather, he believes that the reversal of circumstances that initially resulted in the impairment write-down of assets should also be recognized in the financial statements of the government through the reversal of the impairment write-down.

Mr. Allen notes that the Board's conclusions to base impairment of capital assets on a service utility approach is unique and does not follow existing accounting standards or theory. Therefore, Mr. Allen sees no reason that the GASB should be bound by traditional "conservative" accounting theory, such as not allowing the reversal of capital asset impairment write-downs when circumstances would indicate otherwise.

Mr. Allen also notes that the PSC proposal does allow, in some circumstances, for the reversal of an impairment loss, and he believes that certain reversals would also be appropriate for the GASB based on its service utility approach.

Members of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board:

Tom L. Alien, Chairman Cynthia B. Green William W. Holder Edward J. Mazur Paul R. Reilly Richard C. Tracy James M. Williams

(1) Capital assets are defined in paragraph 19 of Statement 34. Capital assets that have been or will be used in operations are also comprehended in that definition.

(2) This Statement applies to business-type activities and enterprise funds that apply FASB Statement No. 71, Accounting for the Effects of Certain Types of Regulation, but does not preclude them from reporting a regulatory asset related to an impairment loss when appropriate in accordance with the provisions of FASB Statement 71.

(3) For purposes of this Statement, land is considered to be a separate capitol asset from buildings and depreciable improvements and therefore should be evaluated separately for impairment.

(4) A capital asset that a government has decided to sell, but is continuing to use as originally intended until the sale occurs, is not considered to exhibit a change in manner or expected duration of use. A capital asset that a government has decided to sell and is not continuing to use is considered to exhibit a change in manner or expected duration of use and should, therefore, be evaluated for impairment.

(5) Restoration cost is the amount necessary to return the capital asset to its original condition and does not include any amount attributable to improvements and additions.

(6) This guidance also applies to insured impairments that result in accounting gains.

(7) Changes to estimated useful lives and salvage values are accounted for on a prospective basis in future depreciation expense.

(8) In accordance with the provisions of Statement No. 10, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Risk Financing and Related Insurance Issues, recoveries received from internal service funds should be accounted for in accordance with the provisions of this paragraph. Recoveries received from the general fund should be accounted for as reimbursements to the extent of the impairment loss, if any, and be reported as transfers in the fund financial statements for amounts in excess of the impairment loss, if any.