Generally Accepted Accounting Principles

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

OTHER ACCOUNTING LITERATURE

Occasionally new transactions or events for which there are no established accounting principles must be reported. In those instances, it is sometimes possible to identify an analogous transaction or event for which there is an established principle and report the new transaction or event similarly. In the absence of a pronouncement in one of the four categories above or an analogous transaction or event, other accounting literature should be considered. Examples of other literature include FASB Concepts Statements; APB Statements; AICPA (AcSEC) Issues Papers; pronouncements of other accounting standard-setting bodies, professional associations, or regulatory agencies; technical information service inquiries; and accounting textbooks, handbooks, and articles.

SUMMARY

Generally accepted accounting principles are not a set of specific circumscribed standards that can be easily found in one convenient set of rules. Rather, they are an amalgam arising from various sources and with an established hierarchy. Generally accepted accounting principles range from official standards established by the FASB, through literature from the AICPA, to, in some situations, articles. Yet the system seems to work reasonably well. Financial statements prepared pursuant to GAAP are highly regarded in the United States for the quality and comparability of the information they provide. Thus, investors and other users have been well served by our system of financial reporting, which results in the fair presentation of financial information prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.