tailieunhanh - Editorial Special Industries and Special Topics_8

Tham khảo tài liệu 'editorial special industries and special topics_8', tài chính - ngân hàng, kế toán - kiểm toán phục vụ nhu cầu học tập, nghiên cứu và làm việc hiệu quả | SPONSOR ACCOUNTING 36 5 annual amount per year per participant plus a surcharge applicable to underfunded plans. Within specified time constraints an employer can terminate a fully funded plan at will. A procedure is prescribed for notifying participants and the PBGC. Underfunded plans maintained by employers in financial distress can transfer responsibility to the PBGC for paying benefits guaranteed by the insurance program. d EVOLUTION OF PENSION ACCOUNTING STANDARDS. SFAS Nos. 35 87 and 88 were the result of approximately 11 years of deliberations by the Financial Accounting Standards Board FASB . However the controversies concerning the accounting for pension plans well preceded that. As noted in the introduction to SFAS No. 87 since 1956 pension accounting literature has expressed a preference for accounting in which cost would be systematically accrued during the expected period of actual service of the covered employees. In 1966 APB Opinion No. 8 Accounting for the Cost of Pension Plans was issued. Within broad limits annual pension cost for accounting purposes under APB No. 8 was the same as cash contributions for prefunded plans. Over the years however actuarial funding methods have evolved that produce different patterns of accumulating ultimate costs some are intended to produce level costs other front-end load costs and still others tend to back-load costs. In 1980 the FASB issued SFAS No. 35 which established standards of financial accounting and reporting for the annual financial statements of a defined benefit pension plan. The Statement was considered the FASB s first step in the overall pension project. After SFAS No. 35 was issued the FASB concluded that the contribution-driven standard prescribed by APB No. 8 was no longer acceptable for employer financial reporting purposes. The proliferation of plans and a total asset pool of nearly 1 trillion and growing argued for an accounting approach under which reported costs would be more consistent