The Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification (FASB ASC) provides guidance regarding employee compensation in the following four topics:
FASB ASC 710, Compensation–General
FASB ASC 712, Compensation—Nonretirement Postemployment Benefits
FASB ASC 715, Compensation—Retirement Benefits
FASB ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation
In this report, we will cover the guidance related to restricted stock awards and restricted stock units. While in practice, the terms restricted stock awards (RSAs) and restricted stock units (RSUs) often are used, FASB ASC 718 refers to these grants as nonvested shares. Accounting for RSAs and RSUs is very similar to accounting for employee stock options. The major difference is that valuation generally is much simpler for nonvested shares.