Accounting
Financial Management
GASB 100: Accounting Changes and Error Corrections for Governments
Last updated: October 12, 2026 · Independent guide · We do not sell rankings or coverage.
GASB 100 (GASB Statement No. 100, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections) tells state and local governments how to classify, record and disclose three kinds of accounting change and the correction of prior-period errors. Changes in accounting principle and error corrections are applied retroactively, changes to or within the reporting entity adjust the current year’s beginning balances, and changes in estimate are applied prospectively. Every adjustment to beginning net position or fund balance must also appear in a tabular reconciliation in the notes, by reporting unit. The Statement has applied since fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2023.
The rule in brief
- Who it applies to: state and local governments, including school districts, that report under GASB GAAP. It amends GASB Statement No. 62.
- What it requires: classify each item as a change in accounting principle, a change in accounting estimate, a change to or within the financial reporting entity, or an error correction, then apply the treatment, display, note disclosure and RSI/SI rules for that category.
- Key dates: issued June 2022; effective for accounting changes and error corrections made in fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2023 (first June 30, 2024 and December 31, 2024 year-ends), with earlier application encouraged.
- Official source: GASB Statement No. 100 summary, gasb.org. Rule details checked October 12, 2026 against state implementation guidance.
How we researched this
We worked from implementation guidance issued by the Ohio Auditor of State, the New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, Louisiana’s Office of Statewide Reporting and Accounting Policy and the North Carolina Office of the State Controller. We cross-checked these against a CPA Journal analysis and audit-firm summaries, and against vendor documentation for the ledger settings. Where a source sells related services or software, we say so.
What GASB 100 requires in detail
The four categories
Classification drives everything that follows (New Mexico DFA, September 26, 2024).
| Category | Typical examples | Financial statement treatment | RSI and SI treatment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Change in accounting principle | New GASB pronouncement; move to a preferable principle | Retroactive; restate prior periods presented if practicable | Earlier periods not restated; explain inconsistency |
| Change in accounting estimate | New useful lives; changed inputs or methodology | Prospective | No change |
| Change to or within the reporting entity | Major/nonmajor fund change; component unit added, removed or re-presented; operations moved to a new fund | Adjust current-year beginning balances; no prior-period restatement | Not restated; explain inconsistency |
| Error correction | Math or posting mistakes; misapplied principles; misuse of facts that existed at issuance | Retroactive; restate all periods presented | Restate, including earlier periods if practicable |
Sources for the table: New Mexico DFA (September 26, 2024), Louisiana OSRAP Memo 24-10 (March 27, 2024), the CPA Journal (May 29, 2023) and, for useful lives, EisnerAmper, February 18, 2025 (EisnerAmper sells audit and advisory services).
Classification rules that trip people up
A change in measurement methodology is a change in estimate, not principle. Correcting a misapplied principle is an error correction. An event that could be either a principle change or a reporting entity change is classified as a reporting entity change (New Mexico DFA, September 26, 2024). A revised estimate becomes an error correction if management should have known the facts when the earlier statements were issued (CPA Journal, May 29, 2023).
Display on the face of the statements
The aggregate amount of adjustments to and restatements of beginning net position, fund balance or fund net position must be displayed for each reporting unit (New Mexico DFA, September 26, 2024). The Ohio Auditor of State interprets this as showing the beginning balance as previously reported, then the aggregate adjustment, then the adjusted balance (Ohio Auditor of State, GASB 100 FAQs, no date shown). Louisiana requires its reporting entities to classify restatements by type: change in accounting principle, change to or within the reporting entity, and correction of an error (Louisiana OSRAP Memo 24-10, March 27, 2024).
Note disclosures and the tabular reconciliation
Each category has its own narrative disclosures (New Mexico DFA, September 26, 2024; North Carolina Office of the State Controller, May 20, 2024):
- Change in principle: nature of the change, line items affected, the pronouncement that required it or else why the new principle is preferable, and why any comparative period was not restated.
- Change in estimate: for each significant input change, its nature and the line items affected; for a methodology change, why the new method is preferable.
- Change to or within the reporting entity: nature and reason, except that no reason is needed when a fund only met or missed the major fund threshold in paragraph 76 of Statement No. 34.
- Error correction: nature of the error and correction, periods and line items affected, and the effect on the prior period’s change in net position or fund balance.
The notes must also include a table reconciling beginning balances as previously reported to adjusted or restated balances, identifying each change and correction, for each reporting unit. A reporting unit is each separate column in the basic financial statements, excluding total columns (Louisiana OSRAP, March 27, 2024). Ohio notes that the table can be omitted if the face of the statements already shows each effect by reporting unit (Ohio Auditor of State, no date shown).
Illustrative restatement example
This illustration uses invented figures. A city with a June 30 year-end finds two items while preparing fiscal 2026 statements:
- Error: $420,000 of May and June 2025 sales tax, received in August 2025 within the availability period, was never accrued and was booked as fiscal 2026 revenue. The June 30, 2024 accrual was correct.
- Reporting entity change: the Parks Capital Projects Fund, previously nonmajor, meets the major fund threshold. Its beginning fund balance is $1,150,000.
The General Fund entry debits sales tax revenue $420,000 and credits fund balance, restatement for error correction, $420,000; the government-wide conversion repeats it. The fund move needs no ledger entry.
| Reporting unit (illustration) | June 30, 2025, as previously reported | Adjustment and type | June 30, 2025, as adjusted or restated |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governmental activities | $48,600,000 | +$420,000 (error correction) | $49,020,000 |
| General Fund | $12,300,000 | +$420,000 (error correction) | $12,720,000 |
| Parks Capital Projects Fund (major) | Not reported separately | +$1,150,000 (change within reporting entity) | $1,150,000 |
| Nonmajor governmental funds | $5,800,000 | −$1,150,000 (change within reporting entity) | $4,650,000 |
The error note states that fiscal 2025’s change in fund balance and net position would have been $420,000 higher without the error. Because the fund move followed the threshold test alone, no reason is required.
RSI and supplementary information
RSI (including MD&A) and SI (including the statistical section) must agree with the basic statements. For principle and entity changes, earlier periods are not restated, but you explain inconsistencies, and MD&A must reference the related note. For errors, you restate earlier affected periods if practicable and label each as restated or not (New Mexico DFA, September 26, 2024). “Not practicable” is a higher bar than inconvenient or expensive (CPA Journal, May 29, 2023), which matters for ten-year pension and OPEB schedules.
Who is exempt, and what falls outside GASB 100
GASB 100 does not apply to entities reporting under FASB standards. For regulatory-basis filers, Ohio treats note disclosure as sufficient, with no display on the face of the statements (Ohio Auditor of State, no date shown).
Acquisitions, mergers, transfers of operations and component units in which the government holds a majority equity interest are not reporting entity changes under paragraph 10 of GASB 100 (New Mexico DFA, September 26, 2024). Where another GASB standard prescribes specific treatment, such as assumption changes under Statement No. 68 for pensions, that standard governs (CPA Journal, May 29, 2023).
Deadlines and consequences
GASB 100 has been mandatory since fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2023 (RSM US, July 8, 2022; RSM sells audit and advisory services). Each new GASB standard you adopt, such as Statement No. 101 on compensated absences, is reported as a change in accounting principle (CPA Journal, May 29, 2023).
GASB has no penalty process. A misclassified or undisclosed restatement is a GAAP departure your auditor must evaluate, and state agencies set their own rules. Louisiana recommends that its entities correct immaterial errors through current-period revenue or expense and suggests a materiality threshold of the greater of $100,000 or 0.25% of the affected prior-year total (Louisiana OSRAP, March 27, 2024). That is state policy, not a GASB rule.
Records you should keep
GASB 100 sets no retention period, but each disclosure implies support your auditor will ask for. For every adjustment, keep:
- A classification memo with the category, reasoning and preferability or pronouncement support.
- The cumulative-effect calculation by reporting unit, tied to audited prior-year balances.
- For errors, evidence of when the facts became known; for unrestated periods, the practicability support.
- The materiality assessment, posted entries, approvals and restated RSI and SI schedules.
What to set up in your general ledger
A few ledger settings keep the disclosure tied to the books. For the wider year-end process, see our guide to accounting close automation.
- Separate equity accounts by category, in every fund. Create three beginning-balance accounts: restatement for error correction, adjustment for change in principle, and adjustment for change to or within the reporting entity. The tabular reconciliation then comes straight from the trial balance.
- A dedicated journal type or source code for prior-period items. Require a category, periods affected and an attached memo before posting, with controller approval. See our article on accounting software for internal controls.
- Lock the prior year once it is audited. The “as previously reported” column must match the issued statements, so correct in the current year rather than reopening it. Sage Intacct, for example, accepts adjusting journal entries only against closed books, and a locked closed period must first be unlocked (Sage Intacct Help, last modified October 1, 2026). Its optional GAAP adjustment journals also keep adjustments in a separate reporting book (Sage Intacct Help, last modified October 8, 2026).
- Effective-dated fund attributes. Store major or nonmajor status and blended or discrete presentation with effective dates, so you can still produce the prior-year presentation.
- A flag for changes in estimate. Estimate changes post to normal accounts, so tag them with a disclosure code for year-end.
- A conversion worksheet line for the government-wide statements. If you convert from modified to full accrual outside the ledger, carry each restatement through the worksheet.
You can also set exception rules that flag any entry posted directly to beginning fund balance, as described in our overview of AI general ledger automation.
Related guides
- GASB 62 Explained: What Still Applies After GASB 89 and 87
- GASB 34 Reporting: Requirements and 2026 Changes
- ACFR: Sections, Timeline and How to Produce It
Frequently asked questions
When did GASB 100 become effective?
GASB 100 applies to accounting changes and error corrections made in fiscal years beginning after June 15, 2023, which for most governments meant years ending June 30, 2024 or December 31, 2024. Earlier application was encouraged.
Is a change in useful lives of capital assets a restatement under GASB 100?
No. It is a change in accounting estimate, applied prospectively and disclosed if significant. It becomes an error correction only if the original estimate ignored facts available when the earlier statements were issued.
Is moving a fund from nonmajor to major a change in accounting principle?
No. It is a change to or within the financial reporting entity. You adjust the current year’s beginning balances and do not restate prior periods.
Does implementing a new GASB standard count as a change in accounting principle?
Yes. You apply it retroactively, name the pronouncement in the notes and include its effect in the tabular reconciliation.
Do we have to restate ten years of RSI and statistical section data for an error?
Only if practicable. You restate the affected years you can, label each year as restated or not, and explain why any year was not. Cost or inconvenience alone does not make restatement impracticable.
What is a reporting unit for the GASB 100 reconciliation table?
Each separate column in the basic financial statements other than total columns, such as governmental activities, each major fund and the aggregate nonmajor funds. The tabular reconciliation shows previously reported and adjusted or restated beginning balances for each one.
Sources
- Governmental Accounting Standards Board, Summary of Statement No. 100, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections, an amendment of GASB Statement No. 62, issued June 2022. gasb.org
- New Mexico Department of Finance and Administration, Financial Control Division, GASB 100 FY24 Guidance memo, September 26, 2024. nmdfa.state.nm.us
- Louisiana Division of Administration, OSRAP Memo 24-10, GASB Statement No. 100, March 27, 2024. doa.louisiana.gov
- North Carolina Office of the State Controller, GASB 100, Accounting Changes and Error Corrections, May 20, 2024. ncosc.gov
- Ohio Auditor of State, GASB 100 FAQs, no date shown. ohioauditor.gov
- Paul Copley and Leah M. Kratz, “GASB Issues Statements 100 and 101,” The CPA Journal, May 29, 2023. cpajournal.com
- EisnerAmper, “Understanding GASB 100: Clarifying Accounting Changes and Errors,” February 18, 2025 (EisnerAmper sells audit and advisory services). eisneramper.com
- RSM US, “GASB revises requirements for accounting changes and error corrections,” July 8, 2022 (RSM sells audit and advisory services). rsmus.com
- Sage Intacct Help, Add an adjusting journal entry to a closed book, last modified October 1, 2026 (Sage sells this software). intacct.com
- Sage Intacct Help, Set up for GAAP or tax adjustments, last modified October 8, 2026 (Sage sells this software). intacct.com
Sherman Hsieh
Independent analysis of enterprise software — ERP, CRM and more
