The Accounting Standards Codification is organized into

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, FASB, is a private, independent organization that since 1973 has been given the authority by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, to establish the accounting procedures used by private industry in the United States. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants also recognizes the organization as the national authority. The term "Accounting Standards Codification" is a registered trademark of the FASB.

GAAP

1. Most business professionals have likely heard of or use GAAP in the management of business. This acronym stands for "generally accepted accounting principles" and refers to the commonly used rules and standards of business accounting procedures in the United States. When preparing financial statements, accountants and business managers following GAAP know the proper format to use in creating financial statements and reports. For example, the GAAP guidelines specify what to include and where to report particular amounts on an income statement or a statement of cash flow.

Systematization

1. Over the years, GAAP standards have evolved through the input of many individuals in the business world. FASB organized the standards and made the rules readily available to accountants and business professionals in all areas of industry. The board created the codification as a means of systemizing the many rules and concepts into one composite structure. FASB calls the Accounting Standards Codification an accessible "advanced application" that permits users to review and study content and research topics. The system also provides a means for users to offer responses.

Condensation

1. According to FASB, the organization aimed toward achieving three goals when creating the Accounting Standards Codification -- to gather all GAAP in one location to make it easier for users to find what is needed, to ensure accuracy and to create a system that can be searched by topic. Prior to 1973, a group of certified public accountants established accounting principles for U.S. businesses and organizations. Since then, these standards have been gradually formulated into GAAP. According to FASB, before the codification system was put in place, GAAP consisted of thousands of principles that had accumulated for more than 50 years.

Access

1. Codification presents the established accounting principles in the United States in a uniform and logical order, including approximately 90 major accounting topics with relevant subtopics and related material. What FASB calls the "basic view" of the codification is free to the public. The comprehensive version with advanced topics, which FASB calls the Professional View of the Accounting Standards Codification, is available to paid subscribers.

   The library also owns hard copies of the Accounting Policy & Practice Portfolios. They can be found in the Reference section (REF HF 5616 .U5 .A345). Each portfolio will bear a number after the call number. For example:

   Accounting for Income Taxes: Uncertain Tax Positions (FIN 48) (REF HF 5616.45 .A345 No. 5002)
   Accounting for Income Taxes: Uncertain Tax Positions - Selected Topics  (REF HF 5616.45 .A345 No. 5003)

    More information: View a list of all portfolios.

   Norwalk, CT, January 15, 2008—The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) today officially launched the one-year verification phase of the FASB Accounting Standards CodificationTM (Codification). During the verification period, constituents are encouraged to use the online Codification Research System free of charge to research accounting issues and provide feedback on whether the Codification content accurately reflects existing U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for nongovernmental entities. Users are advised that the Codification content is not yet approved as authoritative and, therefore, they must verify research results using their existing resources for the currently effective literature.

   After addressing the issues raised during the constituent feedback process, the FASB is expected to formally approve the Codification as the single source of authoritative U.S. GAAP, other than guidance issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). To improve usability, the Codification will include authoritative content issued by the SEC, as well as selected SEC staff interpretations. Upon approval by the FASB, all accounting standards (other than the SEC guidance) used to populate the Codification will be superseded. At that time, with the exception of any SEC or grandfathered guidance, all other accounting literature not included in the Codification will become nonauthoritative.

   Users who register at http://asc.fasb.org are able to review the Codification free of charge and provide specific content-related feedback at the individual paragraph level as well as general system-related feedback. During the verification period, Codification content will be updated for changes resulting from constituent feedback and new standards.

   The Codification includes all accounting standards issued by a standard-setter within levels A through D of the current U.S. GAAP hierarchy, including FASB, American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF), and related literature.

   The Codification does not change GAAP; instead it reorganizes the thousands of U.S. GAAP pronouncements into roughly 90 accounting topics, and displays all topics using a consistent structure. The SEC guidance will follow a similar topical structure in separate SEC sections.

   The FASB expects that the new structure and new system will:

   • Reduce the amount of time and effort required to solve an accounting research issue.
   • Improve usability of the literature thereby mitigating the risk of noncompliance with standards.
   • Provide real-time updates as new standards are released.
   • Assist the FASB with the research and convergence efforts required during the standard-setting process.
   • Become the authoritative source of literature for the completed XBRL taxonomy.

    

   The home page of the Codification Research System includes various items that users should be aware of, including:

   • A suggested approach for verifying the Codification content.
   • A Notice to Constituents that describes Codification-related matters, including content matters for constituent feedback. For example, the Notice addresses the standards and elevated guidance used to populate the Codification, the use of December 31, 2008, as the authoring effective date, and conflicts resolved by Board decision for which the Board is requesting feedback.
   • Content excluded from the Codification Research System on the verification launch date. The FASB expects to release such content shortly after the initial launch.

    

   The Codification Research System also includes general information about how to use the online research system and special features such as Cross Reference Reports (to locate where standards reside), Join Sections (to join similar Sections from multiple Topics and Subtopics into a single document), and Go To (to jump directly to a specific Topic, Subtopic, Section, or paragraph). The Accounting Standards Codification excludes governmental accounting standards.

   About the Financial Accounting Standards Board

   Since 1973, the Financial Accounting Standards Board has been the designated organization in the private sector for establishing standards of financial accounting and reporting. Those standards govern the preparation of financial reports and are officially recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Such standards are essential to the efficient functioning of the economy because investors, creditors, auditors, and others rely on credible, transparent, and comparable financial information. For more information about the FASB, visit our website at www.fasb.org.

   How is the Accounting Standards Codification organized?

   The Codification has organized the thousands of GAAP pronouncements into four primary groupings that include presentation, financial statements accounts (assets, liabilities, equity, revenue and expenses), broad transactions and industry guidance.

   How many Accounting Standards Codification are there?

   The Codification reorganizes the thousands of U.S. GAAP pronouncements into roughly 90 accounting topics and displays all topics using a consistent structure.

   What is five main areas of Accounting Standards Codification?

   Codification topics reside in four main areas; including presentation, financial statement accounts, broad transactions, and industries. Within each topic are sections, which also correlate very closely with sections of individual international accounting standards.

   What are the two levels of the Codification hierarchy?

   Once the Codification is in effect, all of its content would carry the same level of authority, effectively superseding Statement 162. In other words, the GAAP hierarchy would be modified to include only two levels of GAAP: authoritative and nonauthoritative.