Handbook: Employee benefits
Handbook | September 2025
Our in-depth guide to accounting for employee benefits under ASC 420, ASC 710, ASC 712, ASC 715 and ASC 718-40.
Using Q&As and examples, our updated guide explains in detail the accounting for general employee compensation, nonretirement post-employee benefits, retirement benefits and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs).
Applicability
- ASC 420, ASC 710, ASC 712, ASC 715 and ASC 718-40
- All entities
Relevant dates
- Effective immediately
A strategic focus for a changing landscape
For companies seeking to harness the full potential of their workforce, looking at existing employee benefits programs through a strategic lens is invaluable. As companies face global pressures from economic fluctuations, stakeholder demands, workforce globalization, the rise of artificial intelligence, and technological advancements, the implications on human capital today are profound.
The need for strategic, informed decision-making has never been greater. Re-engaging with the foundational principles outlined in this Handbook will equip you to better anticipate and respond to these challenges.
Further, as businesses strive for competitive advantage through enhanced employee compensation and benefits packages, understanding the intricacies of accounting for employee compensation becomes a powerful tool.
We encourage you to delve into this edition with an eye toward leveraging these insights for organizational growth and sustainability. We’ve organized it in a Q&A format that makes it easy to identify the answers to both the common and more unique questions.
Report contents
- Scope
- Compensation: General
- Termination benefits and other nonretirement postemployment benefits
- Retirement plans: General and defined contribution plans
- Defined benefit (DB) pension and other postemployment employment benefit (OPEB) plans: Plan assets and obligations
- DB pension and OPEB plans: Costs
- DB pension and OPEB plans: Assumptions and attribution
- DB pension and OPEB plans: Settlements, curtailments and certain termination benefits
- Retirement plans: Special topics, including multiemployer plans
- Retirement plans: Disclosure
- Employee stock ownership plans
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