# ASC 321-958-15: Investments—Equity Securities — Not-for-Profit Entities — 15 Scope and Scope Exceptions Source: FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Basic View [Read online](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#15-scope-and-scope-exceptions) Study and research edition. Verify current requirements with the official source. Summaries, enrichment, and tags are machine-generated study aids. Paragraph html preserves source markup; snippet is abbreviated. Pending content is not necessarily effective. Tables and mathematical or amendment markup are retained as HTML where Markdown would lose structure. Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z to 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z Record version: sha256:04d4cbe60a9ef2b62273f6076e44fea9b92153fb1d5f8a03c07127fed046ff60 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 321-958-15: 15 Scope and Scope Exceptions [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#15-scope-and-scope-exceptions) SEC content: no #### Overall Guidance ##### [321-958-15-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#321-958-15-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z to 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z Record version: sha256:b461ae6dcf23e8afad05ab990cbe6f65177e2988886e3e6f8dc0d06eeb95bf1e Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. This Subtopic follows the same Scope and Scope Exceptions as outlined in the Overall Subtopic; see Section 958-10-15, with specific exceptions noted below. #### Instruments ##### [321-958-15-2](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#321-958-15-2) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z to 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z Record version: sha256:462e620ccd082783a8d9d71b1882e6e68ef821c3816ad8da380fc835311d3308 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The measurement guidance in Section 958-321-35 applies to all investments in [equity securities](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/e/#equity-security "Any security representing an ownership interest in an entity (for example, common, preferred, or other capital stock) or the right to acquire (for example, warrants, rights, forward purchase contracts, and call options) or dispose of (for example, put options and forward sale contracts) an ownership interest in an entity at fixed or determinable prices. The term equity security does not include any of the following: Written equity options (because they represent obligations of the writer, not investments) Cash-settled options on equity securities or options on equity-based indexes (because those instruments do not represent ownership interests in an entity) Convertible debt or preferred stock that by its terms either must be redeemed by the issuing entity or is redeemable at the option of the investor.") and other ownership interests in an entity, including investments in partnerships, unincorporated joint ventures, and limited liability companies as if those other ownership interests are equity securities. ##### [321-958-15-3](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#321-958-15-3) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z to 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z Record version: sha256:9d179327c5824c8631140f819739ee0d1d70423fd3c47735b21ada1c26c01ac3 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The reporting guidance in Sections 958-220-45 and 958-320-50 applies to all investments held by [not-for-profit entities](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/n/#not-for-profit-entity "An entity that possesses the following characteristics, in varying degrees, that distinguish it from a business entity: Contributions of significant amounts of resources from resource providers who do not expect commensurate or proportionate pecuniary return Operating purposes other than to provide goods or services at a profit Absence of ownership interests like those of business entities. Entities that clearly fall outside this definition include the following: All investor-owned entities Entities that provide dividends, lower costs, or other economic benefits directly and proportionately to their owners, members, or participants, such as mutual insurance entities, credit unions, farm and rural electric cooperatives, and employee benefit plans.") (NFPs), except those described in paragraph [958-321-15-4](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#321-958-15-4). ##### [321-958-15-4](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#321-958-15-4) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z to 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z Record version: sha256:3d902b2f8d7205f60800800f06d0fd64449936a3c0185f2c31b83bbab18fc565 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The guidance in this Subtopic does not apply to any of the following: 1. a An investment in equity securities that the investor accounts for under the equity method in accordance with paragraph [958-810-15-4](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/810/958/#810-958-15-4). 2. b An investment in a subsidiary that the investor consolidates in accordance with paragraph [958-810-15-4](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/810/958/#810-958-15-4) or [958-810-25-2 through 25-4](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/810/958/#810-958-25-2) . 3. c An investment in a derivative instrument that is subject to the requirements of Topic 815. That is, an investment in an option on securities shall be accounted for under the requirements of Subtopic 815-10 if the option meets the definition of a derivative instrument, including the criteria for net settlement in paragraph [815-10-15-99](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/815/10/#815-10-15-99). 4. d Short sales of securities (sales of securities that the seller does not own at the time of sale), because they are obligations to deliver securities, not investments. Short-sale obligations are addressed in the guidance for certain industries (see paragraph [940-320-35-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/320/940/#320-940-35-1) with respect to broker-dealers and paragraph [942-405-35-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/405/942/#405-942-35-1) with respect to depository institutions). For guidance on evaluating whether a short-sale transaction involves a derivative instrument, see paragraph [815-10-55-57](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/815/10/#815-10-55-57). 5. e Investments held by a [financially interrelated entity](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/f/#financially-interrelated-entities "A recipient entity and a specified beneficiary are financially interrelated entities if the relationship between them has both of the following characteristics: One of the entities has the ability to influence the operating and financial decisions of the other. One of the entities has an ongoing economic interest in the net assets of the other."). See Subtopic 958-20 for reporting interests in the [net assets](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/n/#net-assets "The excess or deficiency of assets over liabilities of a not-for-profit entity, which is divided into two mutually exclusive classes according to the existence or absence of donor-imposed restrictions. See Net Assets with Donor Restrictions and Net Assets without Donor Restrictions.") of a financially interrelated entity. ##### [321-958-15-5](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#321-958-15-5) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z to 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z Record version: sha256:84fe3dae35284b88f665058f9d278ea65bd84fb93f226bceff7f2f8edef07d7b Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. If an investment otherwise would be in the scope of this Subtopic and it has within it an embedded derivative that is subject to the requirements of Topic 815, the host contract (as described in paragraph [815-15-05-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/815/15/#815-15-05-1)) remains within the scope of this Subtopic. ##### [321-958-15-6](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#321-958-15-6) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z to 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z Record version: sha256:f04ef3aa6341f48ee5ef0926f8b19dd7524386c7c08c01c095cf2e21671e0308 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. In determining whether an instrument is within the scope of this Subtopic, an entity shall not look through the form of its investment to the nature of the securities held by an investee. For example, an entity invests in a limited partnership interest (or a venture capital entity) that meets the definition of an equity security. However, substantially all of the partnership's assets consist of investments in debt securities. In the specific situation described, the investment would be considered an equity security. #### Other Considerations ##### [321-958-15-7](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/321/958/#321-958-15-7) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z to 2026-09-09T23:39:24.310Z Record version: sha256:f5a1de803f66a9e4e0a28ac7e8087029e416e0ec5055aa2df95b6c075ed578f0 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. This Subtopic does not specify methods to be used for measuring the amount of dividend income.