With the implementation of Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statement 68, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Pensions – an amendment of GASB Statement No. 27, there has been some concern that some Public Housing Authorities (PHAs) will not receive pension data in time for presentation in the unaudited reports which are due to HUD 60 days, but no later than five months, after the fiscal year end. Pension data is expected to be made available in the spring of each year; however, because not all PHAs have the same fiscal year end, the data each PHA will use will depend on where the fiscal year end falls in relation to the measurement date. As a reminder, the measurement date for each year's pension data is June 30 of the prior year and that data will be available to units the following spring. However, paragraph 48 of GASB Statement 68 requires that the measurement date should be “no earlier than the end of the employer's prior fiscal year…." With this in mind, note that PHAs with fiscal year ends of September 30 or December 31 will use pension data that will be available in the year following the reporting fiscal year end. For example, PHAs with a September 30, 2015 fiscal year end will use pension data based on the measurement date of June 30, 2015; this data will be available in the spring of 2016. PHAs with fiscal year ends of June 30 or March 31 will use data available in the spring of their reporting year.
Based on conversations with HUD, it is our understanding that HUD would like the pension data included in the unaudited reports, if possible. Because the pension data will not be available in time for the September 30 fiscal year end units' unaudited statements, we recommend that PHAs with a September 30 fiscal year end include a note with their unaudited financial statements indicating that necessary pension data was not available at the time the financial statements were prepared. Remember that the pension data is long-term in nature so any changes between the unaudited statements and audited statements should not affect current assets, liabilities, or operating accounts. Given the volatility of numbers from year to year, we do not recommend using prior year numbers in the financial statements.
For more information on pension reporting, please visit our Pension Standards page.
If you have any questions, please contact us at 919.814.4291.