GASB statement lets gov'ts account for other benefits

Accounting Today, September, 2004 by Glenn Cheney

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued a statement that will, for the first time, give governments guidance on how to accurately report a huge and growing cost: post-employment benefits other than pensions, including the big one - health care benefits.

Financial reports issued under Statement 45, Accounting and Financial Reporting by Employees for Post-employment Benefits Other Than Pensions, would provide taxpayers and other interested parties with information about the cost of providing post-employment benefits, the commitments that governments have made, and the extent to which those commitments are being funded.

"The application of Statement 45 will replace pay-as-you-go accounting - the most common practice among governments today - with...