The Statement of Financial Accounting Standards (SFAS) is a set of accounting standards issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The SFAS contains the accounting principles and guidelines that public companies in the United States must follow when preparing their financial statements. What was the purpose of the FASB Accounting Standards Codification project? The purpose of the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) project was to create a uniform, centralized source of authoritative U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
The ASC was created in response to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which required the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to establish a single set of accounting standards for public companies. The SEC chose to delegate this authority to the FASB, which began work on the ASC in 2003.
The ASC was completed in 2009 and became the sole source of authoritative GAAP in the U.S. It is organized by topic and contains over 9,000 topics, making it the largest and most comprehensive codification of accounting standards in the world.
What does the term generally accepted principle mean?
The term generally accepted principle refers to a basic rule or guideline that is widely accepted by those in the accounting profession. Generally accepted principles are used to guide accountants in their work, and they are based on both theoretical and practical considerations.
How are topics added to FASB technical agenda?
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is responsible for setting accounting standards in the United States. The FASB's technical agenda is used to prioritize the projects that the Board will work on in the coming year.
The FASB's technical agenda is determined by a number of factors, including:
* Feedback from stakeholders: The FASB regularly solicits feedback from a variety of stakeholders, including investors, preparers, auditors, and others, on the priority of various projects.
* The need to improve financial reporting: The FASB also considers whether a project is needed to improve financial reporting. For example, a project may be added to the agenda if it is determined that current accounting standards are not providing adequate information to investors.
* The complexity of the project: The FASB also takes into account the complexity of a project when determining whether to add it to the agenda. For example, a project that is likely to require a significant amount of time and resources to complete may be given lower priority than a simpler project. What is SFAS No 157? SFAS No 157 is an accounting standard that was issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board in September 2006. The standard addresses the fair value measurement of investments in certain types of debt and equity securities.
Specifically, SFAS No 157 provides guidance on how to measure the fair value of investments in equity securities that do not have a readily observable market value. It also establishes a framework for measuring the fair value of debt securities and other financial instruments that have been adversely affected by credit deterioration.
SFAS No 157 is effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2007. For many companies, this will mean that the standard will first be applied to their financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2008.
What FAS 167?
FAS 167 is an accounting standard that establishes requirements for the classification of certain financial instruments. Specifically, it requires that certain financial instruments be classified as either held-to-maturity, available-for-sale, or trading securities.
Held-to-maturity securities are those financial instruments that the entity intends to hold until maturity. Available-for-sale securities are those financial instruments that are not held-to-maturity and are not trading securities. Trading securities are those financial instruments that are acquired for the purpose of selling them in the near term.