FASB's Private Company Council Aims to Raise Profile

Why It Matters

Elevating the PCC’s profile ensures private‑company concerns shape U.S. GAAP, reducing compliance burdens and improving financial reporting for lenders and investors.

Key Takeaways

• New PCC chair Jere Shawver emphasizes visibility
• PCC advises FASB on private‑company practical expedients
• Focus on lease implementation challenges and credit‑loss expedients
• Private‑equity not primary PCC constituency, but influences reporting
• Town‑halls and reports aim to boost stakeholder engagement

Pulse Analysis

The Private Company Council (PCC) entered the accounting landscape in 2012 to give privately held firms a louder voice in the Financial Accounting Standards Board’s (FASB) rule‑making. After two decades of modest visibility, Jere Shawver—former CEO of Baker Tilly US—took the helm in 2024 with a clear mandate: raise the council’s profile and deepen constituent participation. Shawver’s practitioner background informs his belief that accounting fundamentals should not diverge between public and private entities, a stance that drives his outreach through town halls, annual reports, and direct dialogue with FASB board members.

Under Shawver’s leadership the PCC is revisiting several high‑impact standards. It has already shaped FASB’s practical expedient that lets private firms sidestep macro‑economic modeling when estimating expected credit losses, and it continues to probe lease‑related complexities such as embedded leases and modification accounting. While private‑equity owners are sophisticated investors, the council views them more as a bridge to public‑company reporting rather than a core constituency. Recent feedback on digital‑asset accounting reaffirmed the PCC’s position that private and public companies should follow a unified treatment.

The council’s heightened visibility matters because most private‑company financial statement users are lenders who rely on clear, comparable data for credit decisions. By influencing FASB to tailor implementation timelines and offer pragmatic shortcuts, the PCC can reduce compliance costs and free capital for growth initiatives. Shawver’s push for regular communication promises a feedback loop that could accelerate future standard‑setting cycles, ensuring that private‑company realities are reflected in U.S. GAAP. Stakeholders who ignore these developments risk missing opportunities to shape a more efficient reporting environment.