The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued Statement No. 95 in May 2020. The main objective of the Statement, Postponement of the Effective Dates of Certain Authoritative Guidance, was to provide temporary relief to governments and other stakeholders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. GASB postponed the effective dates of specific provisions that first became effective or were scheduled to become effective for periods beginning after June 15, 2018.
Specifically, the effective date of Statement No. 84, Fiduciary Activities, was postponed by one year. This Statement’s requirements are now effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2020, and therefore for school districts’ fiscal year 2021, if the district did not opt for early implementation. GASB 84 defines and clarifies fiduciary activities and establishes criteria for identifying those activities, focusing on whether a government controls the assets and the beneficiaries with whom the relationship exists.