Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Us Gaap shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Us Gaap offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Us Gaap at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Us Gaap? Wrong! If the Us Gaap is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Us Gaap then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Us Gaap? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Us Gaap and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Us Gaap wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Us Gaap then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Us Gaap site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Us Gaap, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Us Gaap, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

In the U.S., generally accepted accounting principles, commonly abbreviated as US GAAP or simply GAAP, are accounting rules used to prepare, present, and report financial statements for a wide variety of entities, including Public company and Privately held company companies, non-profit organizations, and governments.

Similar to many other countries practicing under the common law system, the United States government does not directly set accounting standards, in the belief that the private sector has better knowledge and resources. US GAAP is not written in law, although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that it be followed in financial reporting by publicly-traded companies. Currently, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is the highest authority in establishing generally accepted accounting principles for public and private companies, as well as non-profit entities. For local and state governments, GAAP is determined by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), which operates under a set of assumptions, principles, and constraints, different from those of standard private-sector GAAP. Financial reporting in United States federal government entities is regulated by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB).

The US GAAP provisions differ somewhat from International Financial Reporting Standards, though efforts are underway to reconcile differences in principles so that financial statements created under international standards will be considered acceptable within the United States, and US GAAP financial statements will be acceptable internationally.

Basic objectives Financial reporting should provide information that is:

• useful to present or potential investors and creditors and other users in making rational investment, credit, and other financial decisions.
• helpful to present or potential investors and creditors and other users in assessing the amounts, timing, and uncertainty of prospective cash receipts.
• about economic resources, the claims to those resources, and the changes in them.

Basic concepts To achieve basic objectives and implement fundamental qualities GAAP has four basic assumptions, four basic principles, and four basic constraints.

Assumptions

• Economic Entity: assumes that the business is separate from its owners or other businesses. Revenues and expenses should be kept separate from personal expenses. This applies even for partnerships and sole proprietorships. As corporates, they are considered separate legal entities.
• Going concern: assumes that the business will be in operation for a long time. This validates the methods of asset capitalization, depreciation, and amortization. Only when liquidation is certain this assumption is not applicable.
• Monetary Unit: assumes a stable currency is going to be the unit of record. The FASB accepts the nominal value of the US Dollar as the monetary unit of record unadjusted for inflation.
• Periodic Reporting: assumes that the business operations can be recorded and separated into different periods (most common periods are months, quarters and years). This is required for comparison between present and past performance.

Principles

• The historical cost principle requires companies to account and report based on acquisition costs rather than fair market value for most assets and liabilities. This principle provides information that is reliable (removing opportunity to provide subjective and potentially biased market values), but not very relevant. Thus there is a trend to use fair values. Most debts and securities are now reported at market values.
• The revenue recognition principle requires companies to record when revenue is (1) realized or realizable and (2) earned, not when cash is received. This way of accounting is called accrual basis accounting.
• The matching principle. Expenses have to be matched with revenues as long as it is reasonable to do so. Expenses are recognized not when the work is performed, or when a product is produced, but when the work or the product actually makes its contribution to revenue. Only if no connection with revenue can be established, may cost be charged as expenses to the current period (e.g. office salaries and other administrative expenses). This principle allows greater evaluation of actual profitability and performance (shows how much was spent to earn revenue). Depreciation and Cost of Goods Sold are good examples of application of this principle.
• The full disclosure principle. Amount and kinds of information disclosed should be decided based on trade-off analysis as a larger amount of information costs more to prepare and use. Information disclosed should be enough to make a judgment while keeping costs reasonable. Information is presented in the main body of financial statements, in the notes or as supplementary information.

Constraints

• Cost-benefit relationship: the benefit of providing the financial information should also be weighed against the cost of providing it.
• Materiality: the significance of an item should be considered when it is reported. An item is considered significant when it would affect the decision of a reasonable individual.
• Industry practices: accounting procedures should follow industry practices.
• Convention of conservatism: when choosing between two solutions, the one that will be least likely to overstate assets and income should be picked.

Required Departures from GAAP Under the AICPA's Code of Professional Ethics under Rule 203 - Accounting Principles, a member must depart from GAAP if following it would lead to a material misstatement on the financial statements, or otherwise be misleading. In the departure the member must disclose, if practicable, the reasons why compliance with the accounting principle would result in a misleading financial statement. Under Rule 203-1-Departures from Established Accounting Principles, the departures are rare, and usually take place when there is new legislation, the evolution of new forms of business transactions, an unusual degree of materiality, or the existence of conflicting industry practices. Page 56. "Auditing, an integrated approach" by Alvin Arens and James Loebbecke, published in 1980 by Prentise Hall, ISBN 0-13-051656-2.

Setting GAAP These organizations influence the development of GAAP in the United States.

• United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The SEC was created as a result of the Great Depression. At that time there was no structure setting accounting standards. The SEC encouraged the establishment of private standard-setting bodies through the AICPA and later the FASB, believing that the private sector had the proper knowledge, resources, and talents. The SEC works closely with various private organizations setting GAAP, but does not set GAAP itself.

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

In 1939, urged by the SEC, the AICPA appointed the Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP). During the years 1939 to 1959 CAP issued 51 Accounting Research Bulletins that dealt with a variety of timely accounting problems. However, this problem-by-problem approach failed to develop the much needed structured body of accounting principles. Thus, in 1959, the AICPA created the Accounting Principles Board (APB), whose mission it was to develop an overall conceptual framework. It List of APB Opinions and was dissolved in 1973 for lack of productivity and failure to act promptly. After the creation of the FASB, the AICPA established the Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC). It publishes:
• Audit and Accounting Guidelines, which summarizes the accounting practices of specific industries (e.g. casinos, colleges, airlines, etc.) and provides specific guidance on matters not addressed by FASB or GASB.
• Statements of Position, which provides guidance on financial reporting topics until the FASB or GASB sets standards on the issue.
• Practice Bulletins, which indicate the AcSEC's views on narrow financial reporting issues not considered by the FASB or the GASB.

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

Realizing the need to reform the APB, leaders in the accounting profession appointed a Study Group on the Establishment of Accounting Principles (commonly known as the Wheat Committee for its chair Francis Wheat). This group determined that the APB must be dissolved and a new standard-setting structure be created. This structure is composed of three organizations: the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF, it selects members of the FASB, funds and oversees their activities), the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), and the major operating organization in this structure the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). FASB has 4 major types of publications:
• Statements of Financial Accounting Standards - the most authoritative GAAP setting publications. More than 150 have been issued to date.
• Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts - first issued in 1978. They are part of the FASB's conceptual framework project and set forth fundamental objectives and concepts that the FASB use in developing future standards. However, they are not a part of GAAP. There have been List of FASB Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts.
• Interpretations - modify or extend existing standards. There have been around List of FASB Interpretations.
• Technical Bulletins - guidelines on applying standards, interpretations, and opinions. Usually solves some very specific accounting issue that will not have a significant, lasting effect.

In 1984 the FASB created the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) which deals with new and unusual financial transactions that have the potential to become common (e.g. accounting for Internet based companies). It acts more like a problem filter for the FASB - the EITF deals with short-term, quickly resolvable issues, leaving long-term, more pervasive problems for the FASB.

• Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)

Created in 1984, the GASB addresses state and local government reporting issues. Its structure is similar to that of the FASB's.

• Other influential organizations (e.g. American Accounting Association, Institute of Management Accountants, Financial Executives Institute)

Precedence of GAAP-setting authorities In the United States, GAAP derives, in order of importance, from:

issuances from an authoritative body designated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants(AICPA) Council (for example, the Financial Accounting Standards Board Statements, AICPA Accounting Principles Board Options, and AICPA Accounting Research Bulletins);

other AICPA issuances such as AICPA Industry Guides;

industry practice; and

into para-accounting literature in the form of books and articles.

House of GAAP The term "House of GAAP concept" derives from an article by Steven Rubin in the Journal of Accountancy June 1984 issue,http://business.library.emory.edu/info/accounting/gaap.html and is commonly used to illustrate the hierarchy of pronouncements, standards, and similar literature which establish US GAAP.

House of GAAP

Category (A)
(Most authoritative)FASB Standards and InterpretationsAccounting Principles Board (APB) OpinionsAICPA Accounting Research Bulletins (ARBs)

Category (B)FASB Technical BulletinsAICPA Industry Audit and Accounting GuidesAICPA Statements of Position (SOPs)

Category (C)FASB Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF)AICPA AcSEC Practice Bulletins

Category (D)
(Least authoritative)AICPA Accounting InterpretationsFASB Implementation Guides (Q and A)Widely recognized and prevalent industry practices



Category A and B are considered authoritative. Category C and D are considered marginally authoritative, thoughts on interesting and unique issues, but could be invalid given a large level of materialism. Category C and D are considered a talking and reasoning phase of bringing issues to an authoritatize level of GAAP.

Notes See also

• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
• OCBOA

External links

• SEC Accounting Bulletins — United States
• SEC Division of Corporate Finance — United States
• Financial Accounting Standards Board Website (FASB) — United States
• Government Accounting Standards Board Website (GASB) — United States

In the U.S., generally accepted accounting principles, commonly abbreviated as US GAAP or simply GAAP, are accounting rules used to prepare, present, and report financial statements for a wide variety of entities, including Public company and Privately held company companies, non-profit organizations, and governments.

Similar to many other countries practicing under the common law system, the United States government does not directly set accounting standards, in the belief that the private sector has better knowledge and resources. US GAAP is not written in law, although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that it be followed in financial reporting by publicly-traded companies. Currently, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is the highest authority in establishing generally accepted accounting principles for public and private companies, as well as non-profit entities. For local and state governments, GAAP is determined by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), which operates under a set of assumptions, principles, and constraints, different from those of standard private-sector GAAP. Financial reporting in United States federal government entities is regulated by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB).

The US GAAP provisions differ somewhat from International Financial Reporting Standards, though efforts are underway to reconcile differences in principles so that financial statements created under international standards will be considered acceptable within the United States, and US GAAP financial statements will be acceptable internationally.

Basic objectives Financial reporting should provide information that is:

• useful to present or potential investors and creditors and other users in making rational investment, credit, and other financial decisions.
• helpful to present or potential investors and creditors and other users in assessing the amounts, timing, and uncertainty of prospective cash receipts.
• about economic resources, the claims to those resources, and the changes in them.

Basic concepts To achieve basic objectives and implement fundamental qualities GAAP has four basic assumptions, four basic principles, and four basic constraints.

Assumptions

• Economic Entity: assumes that the business is separate from its owners or other businesses. Revenues and expenses should be kept separate from personal expenses. This applies even for partnerships and sole proprietorships. As corporates, they are considered separate legal entities.
• Going concern: assumes that the business will be in operation for a long time. This validates the methods of asset capitalization, depreciation, and amortization. Only when liquidation is certain this assumption is not applicable.
• Monetary Unit: assumes a stable currency is going to be the unit of record. The FASB accepts the nominal value of the US Dollar as the monetary unit of record unadjusted for inflation.
• Periodic Reporting: assumes that the business operations can be recorded and separated into different periods (most common periods are months, quarters and years). This is required for comparison between present and past performance.

Principles

• The historical cost principle requires companies to account and report based on acquisition costs rather than fair market value for most assets and liabilities. This principle provides information that is reliable (removing opportunity to provide subjective and potentially biased market values), but not very relevant. Thus there is a trend to use fair values. Most debts and securities are now reported at market values.
• The revenue recognition principle requires companies to record when revenue is (1) realized or realizable and (2) earned, not when cash is received. This way of accounting is called accrual basis accounting.
• The matching principle. Expenses have to be matched with revenues as long as it is reasonable to do so. Expenses are recognized not when the work is performed, or when a product is produced, but when the work or the product actually makes its contribution to revenue. Only if no connection with revenue can be established, may cost be charged as expenses to the current period (e.g. office salaries and other administrative expenses). This principle allows greater evaluation of actual profitability and performance (shows how much was spent to earn revenue). Depreciation and Cost of Goods Sold are good examples of application of this principle.
• The full disclosure principle. Amount and kinds of information disclosed should be decided based on trade-off analysis as a larger amount of information costs more to prepare and use. Information disclosed should be enough to make a judgment while keeping costs reasonable. Information is presented in the main body of financial statements, in the notes or as supplementary information.

Constraints

• Cost-benefit relationship: the benefit of providing the financial information should also be weighed against the cost of providing it.
• Materiality: the significance of an item should be considered when it is reported. An item is considered significant when it would affect the decision of a reasonable individual.
• Industry practices: accounting procedures should follow industry practices.
• Convention of conservatism: when choosing between two solutions, the one that will be least likely to overstate assets and income should be picked.

Required Departures from GAAP Under the AICPA's Code of Professional Ethics under Rule 203 - Accounting Principles, a member must depart from GAAP if following it would lead to a material misstatement on the financial statements, or otherwise be misleading. In the departure the member must disclose, if practicable, the reasons why compliance with the accounting principle would result in a misleading financial statement. Under Rule 203-1-Departures from Established Accounting Principles, the departures are rare, and usually take place when there is new legislation, the evolution of new forms of business transactions, an unusual degree of materiality, or the existence of conflicting industry practices. Page 56. "Auditing, an integrated approach" by Alvin Arens and James Loebbecke, published in 1980 by Prentise Hall, ISBN 0-13-051656-2.

Setting GAAP These organizations influence the development of GAAP in the United States.

• United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)

The SEC was created as a result of the Great Depression. At that time there was no structure setting accounting standards. The SEC encouraged the establishment of private standard-setting bodies through the AICPA and later the FASB, believing that the private sector had the proper knowledge, resources, and talents. The SEC works closely with various private organizations setting GAAP, but does not set GAAP itself.

• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)

In 1939, urged by the SEC, the AICPA appointed the Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP). During the years 1939 to 1959 CAP issued 51 Accounting Research Bulletins that dealt with a variety of timely accounting problems. However, this problem-by-problem approach failed to develop the much needed structured body of accounting principles. Thus, in 1959, the AICPA created the Accounting Principles Board (APB), whose mission it was to develop an overall conceptual framework. It List of APB Opinions and was dissolved in 1973 for lack of productivity and failure to act promptly. After the creation of the FASB, the AICPA established the Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC). It publishes:
• Audit and Accounting Guidelines, which summarizes the accounting practices of specific industries (e.g. casinos, colleges, airlines, etc.) and provides specific guidance on matters not addressed by FASB or GASB.
• Statements of Position, which provides guidance on financial reporting topics until the FASB or GASB sets standards on the issue.
• Practice Bulletins, which indicate the AcSEC's views on narrow financial reporting issues not considered by the FASB or the GASB.

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

Realizing the need to reform the APB, leaders in the accounting profession appointed a Study Group on the Establishment of Accounting Principles (commonly known as the Wheat Committee for its chair Francis Wheat). This group determined that the APB must be dissolved and a new standard-setting structure be created. This structure is composed of three organizations: the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF, it selects members of the FASB, funds and oversees their activities), the Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council (FASAC), and the major operating organization in this structure the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). FASB has 4 major types of publications:
• Statements of Financial Accounting Standards - the most authoritative GAAP setting publications. More than 150 have been issued to date.
• Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts - first issued in 1978. They are part of the FASB's conceptual framework project and set forth fundamental objectives and concepts that the FASB use in developing future standards. However, they are not a part of GAAP. There have been List of FASB Statements of Financial Accounting Concepts.
• Interpretations - modify or extend existing standards. There have been around List of FASB Interpretations.
• Technical Bulletins - guidelines on applying standards, interpretations, and opinions. Usually solves some very specific accounting issue that will not have a significant, lasting effect.

In 1984 the FASB created the Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) which deals with new and unusual financial transactions that have the potential to become common (e.g. accounting for Internet based companies). It acts more like a problem filter for the FASB - the EITF deals with short-term, quickly resolvable issues, leaving long-term, more pervasive problems for the FASB.

• Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB)

Created in 1984, the GASB addresses state and local government reporting issues. Its structure is similar to that of the FASB's.

• Other influential organizations (e.g. American Accounting Association, Institute of Management Accountants, Financial Executives Institute)

Precedence of GAAP-setting authorities In the United States, GAAP derives, in order of importance, from:

issuances from an authoritative body designated by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants(AICPA) Council (for example, the Financial Accounting Standards Board Statements, AICPA Accounting Principles Board Options, and AICPA Accounting Research Bulletins);

other AICPA issuances such as AICPA Industry Guides;

industry practice; and

into para-accounting literature in the form of books and articles.

House of GAAP The term "House of GAAP concept" derives from an article by Steven Rubin in the Journal of Accountancy June 1984 issue,http://business.library.emory.edu/info/accounting/gaap.html and is commonly used to illustrate the hierarchy of pronouncements, standards, and similar literature which establish US GAAP.

House of GAAP

Category (A)
(Most authoritative)FASB Standards and InterpretationsAccounting Principles Board (APB) OpinionsAICPA Accounting Research Bulletins (ARBs)

Category (B)FASB Technical BulletinsAICPA Industry Audit and Accounting GuidesAICPA Statements of Position (SOPs)

Category (C)FASB Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF)AICPA AcSEC Practice Bulletins

Category (D)
(Least authoritative)AICPA Accounting InterpretationsFASB Implementation Guides (Q and A)Widely recognized and prevalent industry practices



Category A and B are considered authoritative. Category C and D are considered marginally authoritative, thoughts on interesting and unique issues, but could be invalid given a large level of materialism. Category C and D are considered a talking and reasoning phase of bringing issues to an authoritatize level of GAAP.

Notes See also

• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles
• OCBOA

External links

• SEC Accounting Bulletins — United States
• SEC Division of Corporate Finance — United States
• Financial Accounting Standards Board Website (FASB) — United States
• Government Accounting Standards Board Website (GASB) — United States