# ASC 720-940: Other Expenses — Financial Services—Brokers and Dealers Source: FASB Accounting Standards Codification, Basic View [Read online](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/720/940/) 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): 2026-09-10T01:10:51.348Z to 2026-09-10T01:11:02.039Z Record version: sha256:3f7f6554616ae6c37c7a02383c13a2b44830f2ba5bdbd0f949199efbcd2df2b1 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 720-940: Other Expenses — Financial Services—Brokers and Dealers ### Machine-generated study aids ```json { "summary": "This short subtopic addresses how brokers and dealers in securities account for mutual fund distribution costs. Its only substantive instruction is a cross-reference: for 12b-1 fees and contingent deferred sales charges, apply the cost guidance in Subtopic 946-720 (Investment Companies—Other Expenses). Its scope follows the broker-dealer Overall Subtopic scope in Section 940-10-15.", "key_points": [ "The subtopic covers accounting for mutual fund distribution costs incurred by broker-dealers (720-940-05-1).", "Scope is the same as the broker-dealer Overall Subtopic, Section 940-10-15 (720-940-15-1).", "For 12b-1 fees and deferred sales charges, the applicable cost guidance is in Subtopic 946-720 (720-940-25-1).", "The subtopic itself contains no independent recognition, measurement, or disclosure requirements beyond the cross-reference." ], "categories": [ "Industry-specific", "Recognition", "Financial statement presentation" ], "audience_level": "intermediate", "student_note": "Recognize this as a pointer subtopic, not a source of rules: if asked how a broker-dealer accounts for 12b-1 fees or deferred sales charges, the answer is found in 946-720. A common mistake is assuming 720-940 permits capitalizing distribution costs; it prescribes nothing on its own.", "related_topics": [ "946-720", "940-10", "940-20", "720-10" ], "key_concepts": [ "mutual fund distribution costs", "12b-1 fees", "deferred sales charges", "broker-dealers", "other expenses", "cross-reference guidance" ] } ``` Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T01:10:51.348Z to 2026-09-10T01:10:51.348Z Record version: sha256:f140ab8b7540976d5324c9d7747a9fd9d32f3866b429e253aed041796dd8671d Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 720-940-00: 00 Status [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/720/940/#00-status) SEC content: no ##### [720-940-00-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/720/940/#720-940-00-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T01:10:51.348Z to 2026-09-10T01:10:51.348Z Record version: sha256:924d164c6e94aea0e7509ec9f4778ac812a4da75186927617ebf7a197cf2b623 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. The following table identifies the changes made to this Subtopic.

Paragraph	Action	Accounting Standards Update	Date

12b-1	Added	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09	05/28/2014

940-720-05-1	Added	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09	05/28/2014
940-720-15-1	Added	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09	05/28/2014
940-720-25-1	Added	Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09	05/28/2014

Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T01:10:53.777Z to 2026-09-10T01:10:53.777Z Record version: sha256:fe080d239142f4bd38457f32c0e8c274d700bce2978ddc227984a0e660b75af9 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 720-940-05: 05 Overview and Background [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/720/940/#05-overview-and-background) SEC content: no ##### [720-940-05-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/720/940/#720-940-05-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T01:10:53.777Z to 2026-09-10T01:10:53.777Z Record version: sha256:6c24b499aee8f42fc98eb6747ea6e5b751c22c689a05dc81462361e90ae2a624 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. This Subtopic addresses the accounting for mutual fund distribution costs for brokers and dealers in securities (broker-dealers). Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T01:10:57.257Z to 2026-09-10T01:10:57.257Z Record version: sha256:6b810d74dc8579c5b10a4c95a5f06d4f0dcca55deffb12e30cf4e4c640de758f Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 720-940-15: 15 Scope and Scope Exceptions [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/720/940/#15-scope-and-scope-exceptions) SEC content: no ##### [720-940-15-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/720/940/#720-940-15-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T01:10:57.257Z to 2026-09-10T01:10:57.257Z Record version: sha256:dd4eb827a85d3b52d612c62e182fa8a2b7859c9aa9bbfaa5e565b2b504a50d49 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 940-10-15. Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T01:11:02.039Z to 2026-09-10T01:11:02.039Z Record version: sha256:a8d1f8c25c0914d5bcd0bd9e40b81ff8c8c184c2f1262b81ac7d74ff8b106311 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. ## ASC 720-940-25: 25 Recognition [Read section](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/720/940/#25-recognition) SEC content: no ##### [720-940-25-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/asc/720/940/#720-940-25-1) Pending content: no Source downloaded (UTC): 2026-09-10T01:11:02.039Z to 2026-09-10T01:11:02.039Z Record version: sha256:a9ded22031864efcd22bff20920094a0150eafc2a968b10ca16e0c2cdaf29fb6 Snapshot version: sha256:15aea8165dff9f5ae47d9484f8470588b13b307f56e1d50801bf4d85ec190e3f Effective as of: not established by retrieval timestamps. With respect to [12b-1](https://asc.understandingaccounting.org/glossary/b/#12b-1 "Rule 12b-1 in Chapter 17 of the Code of Federal Regulations is one of the regulations implementing the Investment Company Act of 1940.") fees and deferred sales charges, see the cost guidance in Subtopic 946-720.