The Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) new guide on Financial Statement Location Dimensions is meant to enhance corporate transparency through better XBRL tagging. Its intended purpose is to demonstrate how structured data can clarify where items are reported, reducing ambiguity for users. Time will tell.
However, state and local governments, following GASB standards, urgently need equivalent or superior tools. GASB's modified accrual approach in governmental funds still obscures long-term obligations like pensions and OPEB, allowing 'balanced' budgets that ignore economic reality. We urge GASB to accelerate taxonomy development under the FDTA, mandate full accrual consistency, and adopt dimensional tagging to expose, rather than hide, fiscal truths.
Taxpayers deserve at least the same clarity as corporate investors. And government should have the same clarity and transparency as the rules it imposes on corporations.
The FASB is accepting comments about the proposed guide until August 20, 2026. Email comments to xbrlguide@fasb.org and be sure to include File Reference Number 2026-2850.