If you’re still straining to keep up with the big changes that are coming in accounting standards, now is a good time to get up to speed before the Financial Accounting Standards Board returns from its summer recess next week to resume its regular meeting agenda.

The FASB took a two-week break from its usual meeting schedule, which lately has consisted of numerous sessions in any given week with its own staff in Norwalk, Conn., and with the International Accounting Standards Board. But the summer holiday comes to an end next week when the board convenes to discuss loss contingencies, a proposed new disclosure framework, and some proposals from the board’s Emerging Issues Task Force.

Although the FASB is a on a fast track to issue a host of major new accounting standards as part of its effort with the IASB to converge U.S. and international rules, the board has coupled that with an effort to get resources out that can help key stakeholders grasp the new era of accounting that is just dawning. In addition to the usual discussion papers and exposure documents laying out the full technical detail of its plans, the board also is publishing user-friendly summaries and producing podcasts and webinars that explain the major new initiatives as they are proposed.

For its planned overhaul of financial statement presentation, for example, the board has produced a webinar that provide s technical overview of a staff draft proposal and a podcast that provides a high-level description of the proposal and describes outreach activities the board is planning to further explain the plan.

To get in touch with changes that are in store for accounting for loss contingencies, the board has produced a two-page, quick-read summary of the proposed new standard and a podcast in which FASB member Tom Linsmeier explains how and why the disclosures around loss contingencies would change.

Working with the IASB, the FASB also has produced a number of materials to help explain the changes coming in fair value measurement and disclosures. The IASB hosted a mini-slideshow and a podcast on measurement and uncertainty, focused primarily on investors’ interests but informative to anyone. The two boards also produced a webinar on the fair value exposure draft giving a high-level overview of the exposure drafts and who they are intended to both improve and eliminate differences in U.S. and international financial reporting.

The FASB also has archived a number of other webcast and webinar events as well as podcasts that explain the changes coming in revenue recognition, financial instruments, and the convergence effort, among others.