Purpose:
This Instructional Letter (IL) provides the U.S. General Services Administration’s (GSA) policy on the implementation and administration of the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board’s (FASAB) SFFAS 59, including Agency Financial Report (AFR) reporting requirements and controls.
Background:
SFFAS 59 ensures consistent accounting treatment and reporting of land by Federal agencies.
FASAB determined that the vast holdings and uses of federal land cannot adequately be communicated to the public through monetary measurements. Specifically, limitations inherent in valuations such as the passage of time and inflation make historical cost less relevant to users. Alternative methods needed to routinely appraise or corroborate over 622 million acres of federally owned land are impractical and cost prohibitive. Instead, the FASAB concluded that, consistent with its conceptual framework, reporting estimated acres increases transparency, comparability, consistency, and reliability of land information while either avoiding or at least significantly minimizing the burden and costs that would otherwise be borne by federal land holding agencies if monetary measures were used to recognize land on the balance sheet.
Applicability:
This IL applies to GSA’s Public Buildings Service (PBS).
Scope:
This IL applies to federally owned land under the jurisdiction, custody and control of GSA...
U.S. General Services Administration