AICPA updates digital assets practice aid

The American Institute of CPAs updated its practice aid on accounting for and auditing digital assets in response to changes in accounting standards.

The updated version of the practice aid includes a new definition of digital assets, along with new and amended accounting questions, and new terms.It's written for practitioners with knowledge of blockchain technology based on the experience of members of the AICPA's Digital Assets Working Group.

The practice aid contains nonauthoritative guidance on how to account for and audit digital assets. It comes in response to a 2023 accounting standards update from the Financial Accounting Standards Board on accounting for and disclosure of crypto assets. 

Some of the new accounting questions answered in the practice aid include:

• Are "wrapped tokens" in the scope of FASB ASC 350-60?
• Are nonfungible tokens in the scope of FASB ASC 350-60?
• Are transaction costs (for example, commissions, gas fees) to acquire crypto intangible assets included in the initial measurement of the acquired asset?
• Are gains and losses from the remeasurement and sale of in-scope crypto intangible assets presented as operating or nonoperating items in the entity's income statement?

The practice aid now reflects a number of new terms. For example, the term "crypto assets" is no longer in use, and new terms such as crypto intangible assets, in-scope crypto intangibles assets and out-of-scope crypto intangibles assets have been included instead. All the new terms are in the AICPA Blockchain Universal Glossary.