ASC

ASC 405-40

Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements

405 Liabilities

Download JSONDownload Markdown12 paragraphs · 8 sectionsJump to summary

Source downloaded: .Record version 67eb03e66f32. Effective date must be checked in the source.

In brief

IntermediateRecognitionInitial measurementSubsequent measurementDisclosure

ASC 405-40 governs how an entity recognizes, measures, and discloses obligations arising from joint and several liability arrangements when the total amount of the obligation is fixed at the reporting date (e.g., debt with co-obligors, settled litigation shared with other defendants). The core measurement rule is that the reporting entity records the amount it agreed to pay under its arrangement with co-obligors plus any additional amount it expects to pay on behalf of those co-obligors. Scope excludes obligations already covered by Topics 410, 450, 460, 715, and 740.

Key points (7)
  • The Subtopic applies only when the total amount of the obligation is fixed at the reporting date, meaning no measurement uncertainty exists as to the total, though the total may later change for reasons unrelated to measurement uncertainty such as additional borrowings or interest rate changes (405-40-15-1).
  • Obligations accounted for under Topic 410 (asset retirement/environmental), Topic 450 (contingencies), Topic 460 (guarantees), Topic 715 (retirement benefits), and Topic 740 (income taxes) are scoped out (405-40-15-1).
  • The amount the entity expects to pay on behalf of co-obligors may be uncertain even though the total obligation is fixed (405-40-15-2).
  • Recognition occurs when the arrangement enters the Subtopic's scope, which may be at inception (e.g., a debt arrangement) or later, when the total obligation becomes fixed (405-40-25-1).
  • Initial measurement equals the amount the entity agreed to pay under the co-obligor arrangement plus any additional amount it expects to pay on behalf of co-obligors; within a range, use the best estimate, or the minimum of the range if no amount is a better estimate (405-40-30-1).
  • The corresponding entry depends on facts and circumstances — examples include cash for debt proceeds, an expense for a legal settlement, a receivable assessed for impairment for a contractual right, or an equity transaction with a common-control entity (405-40-25-2).
  • Required disclosures include the nature of the arrangement, the total outstanding amount not reduced by amounts recoverable from others, carrying amounts of the liability and any receivable, recourse provisions, and the corresponding entry and where it was recorded in the period of initial recognition or significant remeasurement (405-40-50-1); these are incremental to Topic 850 related-party disclosures (405-40-50-2).

For students. This Subtopic filled a gap where entities inconsistently reported only their allocated share of jointly owed debt or settlements; the common misunderstanding is thinking the entity records only its agreed share \u2014 it must add amounts it expects to pay for co-obligors and must disclose the full outstanding amount without offsetting expected recoveries.

joint and several liabilityco-obligorsfixed total obligationmeasurement uncertaintyexpected additional amountrecourse provisionscorresponding entryrange of estimates

Machine-generated study aid for ASC 405-40. Check the source paragraphs below.

405-40-00Status

Source downloaded: .Record version e29df78b7620. Effective date must be checked in the source.

405-40-05Overview and Background

Source downloaded: .Record version e55cb078c4f6. Effective date must be checked in the source.

Overall Guidance

405-40-05-1
This Subtopic addresses the recognition, measurement, and disclosure of obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements.

405-40-15Scope and Scope Exceptions

Source downloaded: .Record version 143f8d838c85. Effective date must be checked in the source.

Overall Guidance

405-40-15-1
The guidance in this Subtopic applies to obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements for which the total amount under the arrangement is fixed at the reporting date, except for obligations otherwise accounted for under the following Topics:
  1. a
    Asset Retirement and Environmental Obligations, see Topic 410
  2. b
    Contingencies, see Topic 450
  3. c
    Guarantees, see Topic 460
  4. d
    Compensation—Retirement Benefits, see Topic 715
  5. e
    Income Taxes, see Topic 740.
For the total amount of an obligation under an arrangement to be considered fixed at the reporting date there can be no measurement uncertainty at the reporting date relating to the total amount of the obligation within the scope of this Subtopic. However, the total amount of the obligation may change subsequently because of factors that are unrelated to measurement uncertainty. For example, the amount may be fixed at the reporting date but change in future periods because an additional amount was borrowed under a line of credit for which an entity is jointly and severally liable or because the interest rate on a joint and several liability arrangement changed.
405-40-15-2
Although the total amount of the obligation of the entity and its co-obligors must be fixed at the reporting date to be within the scope of this Subtopic, the amount that the entity expects to pay on behalf of its co-obligors may be uncertain at the reporting date.

405-40-25Recognition

Source downloaded: .Record version ecb72b5a2500. Effective date must be checked in the source.

405-40-25-1
An entity shall recognize obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements when the arrangement is included in the scope of this Subtopic. In some circumstances, the arrangement is included in the scope of this Subtopic at the inception of the arrangement (for example, a debt arrangement); in other circumstances, the arrangement is included in the scope of this Subtopic after the inception of the arrangement (for example, when the total amount of the obligation becomes fixed, consistent with paragraph 405-40-15-1).
405-40-25-2
The corresponding entry or entries shall depend on facts and circumstances of the obligation. Examples of corresponding entries include the following:
  1. a
    Cash for proceeds from a debt arrangement
  2. b
    An expense for a legal settlement
  3. c
    A receivable (that is assessed for impairment) for a contractual right
  4. d
    An equity transaction with an entity under common control.

405-40-30Initial Measurement

Source downloaded: .Record version 81eaaedd0b6d. Effective date must be checked in the source.

405-40-30-1
Obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements included in the scope of this Subtopic initially shall be measured as the sum of the following:
  1. a
    The amount the reporting entity agreed to pay on the basis of its arrangement among its co-obligors.
  2. b
    Any additional amount the reporting entity expects to pay on behalf of its co-obligors. If some amount within a range of the additional amount the reporting entity expects to pay is a better estimate than any other amount within the range, that amount shall be the additional amount included in the measurement of the obligation. If no amount within the range is a better estimate than any other amount, then the minimum amount in the range shall be the additional amount included in the measurement of the obligation.
405-40-30-2
The corresponding entry or entries shall depend on the facts and circumstances of the obligation.

405-40-35Subsequent Measurement

Source downloaded: .Record version 52d3f5afb57f. Effective date must be checked in the source.

405-40-35-1
Obligations resulting from joint and several liability arrangements included in the scope of this Subtopic subsequently shall be measured using the guidance in Section 405-40-30.

405-40-50Disclosure

Source downloaded: .Record version 65abfe92278c. Effective date must be checked in the source.

405-40-50-1
An entity shall disclose the following information about each obligation, or each group of similar obligations, resulting from joint and several liability arrangements included in the scope of this Subtopic:
  1. a
    The nature of the arrangement, including:
    1. 1
      How the liability arose
    2. 2
      The relationship with other co-obligors
    3. 3
      The terms and conditions of the arrangement.
  2. b
    The total outstanding amount under the arrangement, which shall not be reduced by the effect of any amounts that may be recoverable from other entities
  3. c
    The carrying amount, if any, of an entity's liability and the carrying amount of a receivable recognized, if any
  4. d
    The nature of any recourse provisions that would enable recovery from other entities of the amounts paid, including any limitations on the amounts that might be recovered
  5. e
    In the period the liability is initially recognized and measured or in a period the measurement changes significantly:
    1. 1
      The corresponding entry
    2. 2
      Where the entry was recorded in the financial statements.
405-40-50-2
The disclosures required by this Section do not affect the related-party disclosure requirements in Topic 850. The disclosure requirements in this Section are incremental to those requirements.

405-40-65Transition and Open Effective Date Information

Source downloaded: .Record version 58e2b0fc864c. Effective date must be checked in the source.

405-40-65-1
Paragraph superseded on 07/08/2016 after the end of the transition period stated in Accounting Standards Update No. 2013-04, Liabilities (Topic 405): Obligations Resulting from Joint and Several Liability Arrangements for Which the Total Amount of the Obligation Is Fixed at the Reporting Date.

Related subtopics