Goodbye to GAAP?: Probably not. But Enron's collapse makes changes in financial regulation likely. (Accounting).(generally accepted accounting principles)(Brief Article)

Industry Week, March, 2002 by McClenahen, John S.

IN THE WAKE OF ENRON CORP'S FINANCIAL collapse, U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), like the energy trading company's executives and auditors, are under intense scrutiny.

The influential Economist magazine has gone so far as to suggest it's time to say good-bye to GAAP, the rules by which thousands of manufacturers and other American companies keep their books.

"The Enron scandal shows that America can no longer take the pre-eminence of its accounting for granted," intones a Jan. 19 Economist editorial. It urges the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), which respectively write and police accounting rules, to re-examine traditional U.S. principles and possibly embrace...

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