Mellon Financial Corporation and Russell/Mellon have announced that they have joined forces in developing four new reports to help clients manage recently introduced GASB 40 risk reporting requirements. The new rules, issued by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), update risk disclosure regulations for all state and local government entities, effective with financial statements for periods beginning June 15, 2004.
GASB 40 addresses the deposit and investment risk disclosures of public fund assets, dividing risk into four major categories: credit, concentration of credit, interest rate and foreign currency. Organizations affected by the new rules include public employee retirement systems, public benefit corporations and authorities, as well as public utilities, hospitals, health care providers, colleges and universities.
To assist in meeting GASB 40 requirements, Mellon and Russell/Mellon have created four new specialized reports available through Mellon’s Workbench reporting tool: Foreign Currency Risk Exposure, Credit Risk Concentration, Interest Rate Risk and Credit Risk by Quality. Information in the reports will be derived both from Mellon’s accounting data and Russell/Mellon’s analytics data, offering clients considerable flexibility when extracting the detailed information needed to become GASB-compliant.
“In the past, we have spent a substantial amount of time sorting through reports and manipulating fund data since GASB requires disclosure by security type,” said Jim Mullen, manager of public debt, Missouri State Employees’ Retirement System. “These customized GASB 40 reports will simplify the disclosure process and greatly reduce the need for data manipulation this fiscal year.”
“Responding rapidly to new client challenges and staying ahead of the dynamic regulatory landscape are two things Mellon’s asset servicing business prides itself on,” said Jim Palermo, Mellon vice chairman and president of Mellon Global Securities Services. “Workbench gives clients a powerful way to quickly measure and analyze risk exposure across a number of scenarios, aiding their decision-making capability.”
“The effort between Russell/Mellon and Mellon on the GASB 40 reports demonstrates our combined commitment to the public fund and not-for-profit market,” said Bill Pryor, Russell/Mellon chief executive officer and president. “Russell/Mellon is dedicated to providing our clients with comprehensive solutions that effectively and efficiently help them compare, analyze and communicate their investment information.”