gaap accounting

gaap accounting

The Importance of GAAP Accounting

1. Introduction to GAAP Accounting

The propensity to which investors and analysts base their estimations upon the information they believe is important to their decision is ever more imperative. Such information originates from financial reports and the fundamental need for a vivid and extensive accounting framework to regulate the content and manner of the financial reports. The authoritative GAAP sculpture of principal importance is the hierarchy of sources which authorities capable of establishing GAAP utilize to develop GAAP. This bibliography is an evidenced framework which culminates with the FASB and its principles. This primary collective body has authorized the international financial reporting standards in order to apply more consistency to global accounting information, which could result in larger investment basis for companies to work among globally.

The generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) were obviously intended to provide guidelines and rules to all companies that follow a public accounting system. Such prerequisites are exceedingly crucial as they help to ensure that companies convey their earnings statements in a comparable manner. This, in turn, will make it more seamless for investors and analysts to make a more precisely calculated deliberation regarding a company’s betterment. More crucially, GAAP rules also serve as a constitution of a consecutive system for financial reporting that allows for an effectual medium of capital allocation. This capital communication is imperative to establishing a unified manner for companies to create credible, relevant, and comparable information about themselves.

2. Benefits of Implementing GAAP Accounting

The key premise of European policy authorities in their transition from national rules to IFRS was the prediction that greater transparency of financial statements would enhance the credibility of and investor confidence in European firms. Therefore, stakeholders may conclude that in addition to increased foreign investment in the issuer, the harmonization of accounting standards results in beneficial effects for the national economy as a whole by promoting the international integration of national listings. Following this same line of thought, if IFRS constitutes an advanced form of accounting regulation, able to respond to the accounting requirements of users by improving the quality of their decisions, a lack of assertive disclosure may contribute to misinterpretations by stakeholders, and possibly lead to suboptimal decisions.

Towards a solution to eliminate the differences in financial reporting internationally and No country is a (US) island are some of the most illustrative titles of articles that appeared in the specialised literature in recent years, and numerous conferences and seminars were organized to discuss the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and other international accounting topics. With the establishment of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the creation of the General Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the early 70s, the North American accounting world became a model and a reference for accounting standards, regulations and principles in the whole world. The GAAP conquered the status of hegemony with the National Opinion Research Centre (NORC) and the national founding structure’s opinion, supported by the large economic power of the United States at the time. Indeed, the GAAP became a sort of ‘economic Monroe doctrine’ in the field of accounting, starting from the epistemological approaches constructed based on theoretical conceptual assertions.

3. Key Principles of GAAP Accounting

GAAP-based accounting principles provide businesses, accounting firms, and independent auditors with a sense of guidance; creating a basis of understanding and a pathway for communicating consistent information. The objective of GAAP is to produce a standardized and consistent manner of reporting by businesses. Accounting firms are entrusted with the responsibility of policing this accounting standard to ensure that consistency and fairness is achieved. Accountants are constantly held to a higher standard for investigative detail allowing only accurate and error-free financial documents to be presented, giving business owners peace of mind and a stronger position to focus on business operations, customer service, and repeat business. Consumers and regulators also benefit from a single framework leading to a greater degree of transparency and understanding – the checks and balances are easily understood and valued – further perfecting free markets.

Guiding principles known as GAAP – the common language of accounting. Business owners, accounting firms, and independent auditors all work hard to create a standard language used to communicate accounting information. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) is the acronym used to convey the comprehensive list of relevant specific accounting standards. Consistency, comparability, and relevance are three of the key incentives driving GAAP principles. Those involved within the businesses, accounting firms, and independent auditors all contribute to the creation of the accounting standards deemed as the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles or GAAP. Accounting principles are designed to be clear, comprehensive, and holistic to deliver the required clarity to the profession of accounting. Codification – the most recent addition to GAAP and a valuable time-saving addition for those involved in the world of accounting.

4. Challenges in Applying GAAP Accounting

Partly due to these negatives, an overwhelming number of finance professionals say that due to fraud prevention concerns, internal controls have become increasingly stricter and internal and external oversight of company actions has been on the rise, according to Dr. Phylis Mansfield, chair of AICPA’s forensic and litigation services committee. External scrutiny has reached the point that once common market accepted accounting practices are now frequently questioned, as was seen in the Parmalat and Lernout & Hauspie cases. FASB itself explains in its overview of the structure that reasonable and reached decisions are not easily achieved, despite the varying views of those who are qualified as board members, that researchers are to be used to support arguments which are both reasoned and the apportioning and exemplifying of the needs of public decision makers be conducted to the end of creation of the best accounting situations such that FASB’s work reveals the wise and considered decision making of its board members. In conclusion, there are a myriad of reasons there are unfairnesses to applying the rules, be it that the rules are tough to apply for particular industries or that generally, isolated anomalous cases are not raised for the general focal consideration the generally applicable rules should have.

Proponents of GAAP say that one of its key strengths is that it allows easy comparisons to be made from firms in different industries. Critics, however, argue that one downside is that because the standards are broad, it is easy for companies to abuse the system to make their earnings appear higher. Unfortunately, strict regulations on what companies are allowed to do would likely cause GAAP to become less effective and the process to develop near constantly changing rules would be much too onerous to be reasonable. Over time, the problem was corrected by the creation of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and new rules were created by the Financial Accounting Standards Board before she was convicted of crimes related to her business, with section 409 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act specifically requiring businesses to update their disclosure of significant new factors which could affect their financial condition or that they failed to disclose in a timely manner to the public in order to reduce this abuse.

5. Conclusion: Embracing GAAP Accounting for Financial Success

However, simply because these standards were created doesn’t mean that they were followed by businesses or the professionals working for them. For much of the United States’ business history, accounting work only had to be done by those who had knowledge of what accounting principles to apply. This rested largely with either Certified Public Accountants (CPAs) or Chartered Accountants (CAs). Without these specially-trained professionals’ assistance, businesses found it more profitable and appealing to avoid much of the drudgery of maintaining financial history. Poorly maintained financial history, in tandem with a lack of ethical accounting behavior, led to many public companies failing to foreshadow or report periods of bad business and heady scandal; none were more illustrative than Enron or HealthSouth in the early 2000s. As large and influential businesses, a mere mention of financial shadiness was able to bring down audit firm Arthur Anderson. These instances are indicative of the priority being placed upon proper financial history and accounting standards. The fundamentals were audaciously eschewed.

The purpose of GAAP accounting is to provide consistent reporting standards that businesses can adhere to in presenting their financial history. These standards work to control how financial reporting happens, ensuring that when an investor, creditor, or other business analyst reviews a business’ financial statements, he or she can trust that it accurately reflects how the company has performed in the past. By making GAAP the norm, stakeholders will have clear information to use in comparing different businesses and assessing how effectively each business is being managed — thus furthering Georgia’s prospects economically.