GASB 45: the Last Wave

We’re on the last wave of compliance with GASB 45 accounting for other post-employment benefits (OPEB).

The biggest calendar-year employers (Phase 1) started in 2007, midsize (Phase 2) in 2008.  Now it’s 2009 audit season, when smaller employers (Phase 3) will shift from cash-basis OPEB accounting to GASB 45’s accrual basis: recognizing the cost over employees’ careers rather than when the cash is paid out (after retirement).  Fiscal-year employers have a little more time.

We thought the last valuations for calendar-year employers would be done by now.  But we’re still doing a lot of first-time OPEB valuations.  That will probably continue until the last round of audits is done.