Accounting Proposal Presses Companies to Reveal Major Expenses

US accounting rulemakers on Wednesday wrapped up deliberations on a plan to force companies to break down more details about the expenses that drive their financial performance.

The plan, to be released as early as mid-year, will call on businesses to disclose details about employee compensation; depreciation of property, plant, and equipment; amortization of intangible assets; and inventory expense included in each expense line item in their income statements, the Financial Accounting Standards Board agreed. The inventory expense category would include inventory expense and other manufacturing expenses, the board further clarified.

“It’s a milestone, in my view,” FASB member Frederick ...