Accounting Standards Update Adoption Checklist

Pull the FASB ASU index and flag every update with an effective date in the current or next fiscal year. Don't rely on an old list — the FASB issues 10-15 ASUs annually and a missed amendment to ASC 842 or ASC 326 has been a common restatement trigger for SMB filers.

Public business entities (PBEs) adopt earlier than private companies for almost every recent ASU — confirm the entity's filer status before locking the timeline. ASC 326 (CECL) and ASC 842 had multi-year staggered adoption windows that tripped up cross-status filers.

Most recent ASUs allow a choice between full retrospective (recast all comparative periods) and modified retrospective (cumulative-effect adjustment to opening retained earnings). The decision drives whether prior-period statements must be restated and how the audit firm will scope its work.

Walk the controller, CFO, and engagement partner through the elected method, the proposed PBC list, and the target sign-off date. Surface any independence concerns up front — the firm cannot assist with the technical accounting memo for an audit client without breaching SSARS / AICPA independence rules.

Export the customer master and pull every active contract, MSA, and standing PO. Group by revenue stream (subscription, professional services, product, license) — the five-step model gets applied per stream, not per individual contract, for representative analysis.

Walk each stream through the five steps: identify the contract, identify performance obligations, determine the transaction price, allocate the price, recognize revenue when (or as) each obligation is satisfied. Document conclusions in a memo per stream — auditors will tie individual contracts back to the stream-level memo.

Distinct goods and services get separate performance obligations and an allocation of standalone selling price. Bundled SaaS + implementation is the most common gotcha — implementation is often distinct, not part of the subscription POB, and gets recognized over the implementation period rather than ratably with the subscription.

Rebates, volume discounts, milestone bonuses, and refund rights are variable consideration. Estimate using either the expected-value or most-likely-amount method, then apply the constraint — only include amounts where a significant reversal is not probable. Document the method choice; auditors will challenge inconsistency between similar contracts.

Pull rent-expense GL detail, AP vendor history, and the property roster. Cross-reference to legal entities — intercompany leases get eliminated in consolidation but still appear on stand-alone statements. Equipment and vehicle leases are routinely missed because they hit the income statement as expense rather than as a recognizable lease line.

Hosting, logistics, and equipment-as-a-service contracts often grant a right to control an identified asset — that's an embedded lease under ASC 842. Common examples: dedicated server racks at a colo provider, dedicated trucking under a 3PL agreement, dedicated production lines at a contract manufacturer.

Allocate the contract consideration between the lease component (right of use) and non-lease components (services, maintenance) based on standalone prices. The practical expedient to combine the two is an accounting policy election by class of asset — document the election, then apply consistently.

Use the incremental borrowing rate (IBR) at the transition date for each lease unless an implicit rate is readily determinable. Document the IBR build-up — risk-free rate plus credit spread plus collateralization adjustment. A flat 5% rate across all leases is a common audit comment.

Group financial assets by similar risk characteristics — customer industry, credit rating, geography, product type, aging bucket. CECL requires expected loss estimation at the pool level when assets share characteristics; only individually-significant impaired items get assessed individually.

Combine historical loss experience, current conditions, and a reasonable-and-supportable forecast period (typically 12-24 months for SMB filers) before reverting to historical. Document the forecast inputs — unemployment rate, GDP, sector default rates — so the same model can be re-run each period.

Calculate the difference between the prior incurred-loss allowance and the new CECL allowance. The day-1 delta posts net of tax to opening retained earnings under modified retrospective. Build the workpaper with a tie-out from the prior allowance roll-forward — this is the single most-tested workpaper in adoption-year audits.

Restate each comparative period presented as if the new standard had always applied. Update the prior-year balance sheet, income statement, and cash flow, plus the three-year selected financial data if presented. Coordinate with the auditor on whether they will reissue an opinion on the prior-year statements.

Required disclosures: nature of the change, transition method elected, practical expedients used, line-item impact of adoption, and qualitative description of changes to processes and controls. Pull boilerplate from an SEC filer in the same industry as a starting point, then tailor — generic disclosure language is a recurring SEC comment letter target.

Schedule a working session with the engagement partner and audit manager. Walk the technical memo, the policy elections, the day-1 adjustment workpaper, and the disclosure draft. Resolving auditor concerns before fieldwork avoids reopening the close.

Final sign-off package: the technical memo, the day-1 AJE with supporting workpapers, the updated chart of accounts mapping, and the disclosure draft. Capture both signatures and any conditions or follow-up items the controller or CFO wants addressed in subsequent quarters.