Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

Encyclopedia of Business, 2nd ed., (1999) by Edmund Jenkins, Cheri Mazza

The AICPA's Accounting Standards Executive Committee (AcSEC), which works closely with the FASB and its staff, is the senior technical committee of the AICPA authorized to set accounting standards and to speak for the AICPA on accounting matters. AcSEC's standard-setting activities are often industry-specific or narrow in scope, whereas the FASB's activities result in standards that are more general and broader in scope. AcSEC issues AICPA Statements of Position, which present conclusions with respect to an emerging problem or diversity in practice. In addition, AcSEC issues AICPA Audit and Accounting Guides, which either interpret GAAP as applicable to a specific industry or, in some cases, establish industry-specific GAAP. For example, Guides have been published for agricultural producers and cooperatives, airlines, casinos, construction contractors, and health care organizations.

Category C

Category C consists of (1) AcSEC Practice Bulletins that have been cleared by the FASB and (2) consensus positions of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF). AcSEC Practice Bulletins are available individually from the AICPA as published and are also included collectively in AICPA Technical Practice Aids . Consensus positions of the EITF are available individually from the FASB as published and are included collectively in EITF Abstracts , which is published by the FASB.

AcSEC Practice Bulletins are used to disseminate AcSEC's views for the purpose of providing practitioners and preparers with guidance on narrow financial accounting and reporting issues. The issues covered by Practice Bulletins are limited to those that have not been and are not being considered by the FASB. Therefore, AcSEC Practice Bulletins, which are reviewed by the FASB, are only issued after the FASB has informed AcSEC that it has no current plans to consider the issue.

Category D

Category D includes (1) AICPA Accounting Interpretations, (2) FASB staff implementation guides, and (3) practices that are widely recognized and prevalent either generally or in an industry.

AICPA Accounting Interpretations (not to be confused with FASB Interpretations, which are included in Category A) were issued from March 1971 through November 1973. The purpose of the interpretations was to provide timely guidance for applying APB Opinions without the formal procedures required for an APB Opinion. In addition, they were used to clarify points on which past practice may have varied and been considered generally accepted. The interpretations, prepared by AICPA staff and reviewed by members of the accounting profession, are not considered to be official pronouncements of the APB. Although most of the interpretations have been superseded by other accounting standards, Volume II of Original Pronouncements includes those that continue in effect as well as reference pages for those that have been superseded.

Implementation guides, which appear in a question-and-answer format, are issued as aids to understanding and implementing various FASB Statements. Typically, those guides are issued when an unusually high number of inquiries are received and the accounting required by a given FASB Statement is particularly complex. The positions and opinions expressed in those guides are those of the FASB staff and do not represent official positions of the FASB. Staff implementation guides are available individually from the FASB as published and also are included collectively in FASB Staff Implementation Guides .