actg 3110 chapter 1 - financial accounting and accounting standards
TRANSCRIPT
ACTG 3110
Chapter 1 - Financial Accounting and Accounting Standards
Overview
• What is accounting?• Financial versus Managerial accounting• Importance of financial accounting
– Who provides it– Who uses it
• Financial Statements– Balance Sheet– Income Statement– Statement of Cash Flows – Statement of Owner’s Equity
Challenges Facing Financial Accounting
• Nonfinancial Measurements
• Forward-looking Information
• Soft Assets
• Timeliness
Overview
• Economic Environment and Financial Reporting– Capital markets
– Corporate form of business
– Secondary versus primary market
– Cash versus accrual accounting
– Need for GAAP
• Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP)
Parties Involved in Standard Setting
• Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)– 1933 and 1934 Acts
– Oversight role
– Enforcement
• American Institute of CPAs (AICPA)– Committee of Accounting Procedure (CAP)
• 1938 - 1959
• Formed by AICPA
• Issued 51 Accounting Research Bulletins
Parties Involved in Standard Setting
• AICPA– Accounting Principles Board (APB)
• 1959-1973
• Formed by AICPA
• Issued 31 APB Opinions & 4 statements
• Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)– 1973 – Present
– Established Due Process
Parties Involved in Standard Setting
• Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC)– Committee of the AICPA to respond to FASB
• Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF)– Set up by the FASB – Deals with immediate problems
FASB
• Supported by the Financial Accounting Foundation
• 7 voting members are full time employees
• Members must not retain investments in companies
• Includes CPAs, Business people, and Academicians
• More influential than CAP or APB
House of GAAP
• Most Authoritative– CAP’s Accounting Research Bulletins (ARBs) – APB Opinions – FASB’s Statements of Financial Accounting
Concepts (SFAC)– FASB’s Statements of Financial Accounting
Standards (SFAS)
House of GAAP
• Second most authoritative:– FASB Technical Bulletins– AICPA Statements of Positions (SOP)– AICPA Industry Audit and Accounting Guides
• Third most authoritative:– EITF Statements– AICPA AcSEC Practice Bulletins
House of GAAP
• Least authoritative– AICPA Accounting Interpretations– FASB Implementation Guides– Widely recognized and prevalent industry
practices
• HOWEVER, SEC is overall ruler on GAAP; may override private sector FASB
Enforcement of Standards
• SEC
• AICPA code of Ethics
• State Boards of Accountancy
• Courts
• Bankers
Issues in Financial Reporting
• Standard Setting in a Political Environment• Expectations Gap
– Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX)
– Public Oversight Board of Accountancy (PCBOA)
• International Accounting Standards Board (IASB)• Rules-based versus Principles-based approaches to
GAAP
Ethics in Accounting
• AICPA Code of Ethics
• IMA Code of Ethics
• IIA Code of Ethics
• Company’s Codes of Ethics
• Basic morals