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GASB 94: New accounting standard for public-private and public-public partnerships (P3s)

ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ will implement GASB 94 in fiscal year 2023. This new standard provides updated guidance for public-private and public-public partnerships (P3s). Ìý

A P3 is an arrangement that ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ enters into with a third party, where the third party is given the right to operate or use a nonfinancial asset (either tangible or intangible) owned by ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ in order to provide public services. The third party receives payment for providing the services to the public and in turn compensates ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ in order to use the asset to earn that revenue.Ìý

The most common P3s for universities are arrangements to provide public services on behalf of auxiliary units. For example, a third party might construct a student dormitory and be allowed to collect payments from ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ students who stay in the dorm. In exchange, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ will own the dormitory at the end of the term of the agreement.

In addition to P3 agreements where third parties provide public services on behalf of ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ, ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ must also recognize any P3 agreements where ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ is allowed to use a governmental entity’s nonfinancial asset to provide public services on behalf of that governmental entity.

Please send any P3 agreements to Justin Church (justin.church@colorado.edu), whether a third party is providing public services on behalf of ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ or if ÃÛÌÒ´«Ã½ÆÆ½â°æÏÂÔØ is providing public services on behalf of another governmental entity. Ìý