The Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement #45 requires governments to account for and report on from an actuarial basis their costs and obligations related to postemployment healthcare and other nonpension benefits, commonly known as OPEBs. Previously, governments only accounted for the cost of current year expenditures referred to as pay-as-you-go financing, according to Yeary.
The research will be a project of the National Center for the Study of Counties, a focused program for the study of county-related issues that is coordinated by the Vinson Institute, in cooperation with the National Association of Counties (NACo).
Interviews will be conducted with county managers, financial directors, actuaries, and human resource directors in governments that have already implemented GASB 45, explains Yeary. "This standard could have potentially far-reaching ramifications for governments of all sizes in terms of bond ratings, taxes, budgets, and the benefits themselves. The information collected in the study will be provided to county officials who will be implementing GASB 45 over the next two years so they may learn from their colleagues' experiences," she concludes.
