FASB Indefinitely Defers Disclosure Requirements

On June 12, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) announced that it would "indefinitely defer certain disclosures about investments held by a nonpublic employee benefit plan in its plan sponsor's own nonpublic equity securities." FASB had originally proposed disclosures that would have required a description of the specific valuation methods used and the specific rates applied. Today's project updates for Fair Value Measurement Disclosures of Private Company Equity Securities by Employee Benefit Plans are now online.

FASB solicited feedback during May and received 72 letters. Of those, 69 supported the proposed deferral. Two proposed alternate ways to avoid the disclosure, and one, from the Department of Labor, advocated for the implementation of the disclosure requirements. The DOL argued that the deferral would "deprive the plan's participants and beneficiaries of important information directly linked to the value of the stock of their private company sponsors."

FASB Chairman Leslie F. Seidman wrote that the decision addresses the concern of private company shareholders that "certain disclosure requirements would potentially provide proprietary information when their employee benefit plans' financial statements are posted on the plan regulator's website."

On February 13, the NCEO joined Employee-Owned S Corporations of America and the ESOP Association in a joint letter to FASB requesting exemption for privately held ESOP companies.