By: Teena R. Curnow, CPA
      Audit Manager

Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement No. 84 establishes criteria for identifying fiduciary activities. The Statement was effective for periods beginning after December 15, 2019 (after the passing of GASB No. 95).

For a fund to be reported as a fiduciary fund, it must meet the following criteria:

1. Assets are controlled or directed by the government.
2. Assets are not derived from the government’s own source revenue or government-mandated nonexchange transactions.
3. Assets have one or more of the following characteristics:

• Assets are administered through a trust, and the government is not a beneficiary. The trust must be dedicated to providing benefits to the recipients and legally protected from creditors of the government.
• Assets are for the benefit of organizations or other governments that are not part of the financial reporting entity.
• Assets are for the benefit of individuals and are not administered in any way by the government (administrative involvement).

Here are some do’s and don’ts when preparing to implement this standard:

Do:

• Evaluate all potential fiduciary activities you may have (club accounts, scholarships, pension, OPEB, etc.)
• Review transaction details from previous years to determine common revenue and expense categories needed to present a profit and loss statement.
• Make necessary changes to accounting software to enable proper tracking of activity necessary for reporting purposes under the standard.

Don’t:

• Wait until the end of the calendar year/fiscal year of implementation to make the necessary changes.
• Assume all currently reported fiduciary activities will remain as fiduciary under the new standard.
• Assume all activities currently being reported are the only possible fiduciary activities that need to be reported under the new standard.

Feel free to reach out to any SEK governmental team member with questions about identifying fiduciary activities.