The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) was established in 1973 to establish standards in financial accounting to govern the preparation of financial reports to nongovernmental entities (fasb). The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recognizes the authority to reaffirm the Rules of Professional Conduct, amended in May 1973 and May 1979 (fasb). These standards are important to efficient functioning of the economy because decisions about the allocation of resources rely on credible, concise, and understandable financial information (fasb). The mission of the FASB is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting that foster financial reporting by nongovernmental entities that provides decision-useful information to investors and other users of financial reports (fasb). They do this by an accomplished and comprehensive and independent process which encourages participation, and objectively considers all stakeholder views, and is subject to oversight by the Financial Accounting Foundation's Board of Trustees (fasb). The Boards' specific research and outreach activities vary from project to project, depending on the nature and scope of the reporting issues involved: 1. The Board identifies a financial reporting issues based on requests/recommendations from stakehholders or through other means. 2. The FASB Chairman decides whether to add a project to the technical agenda, after consultation with FASB Members and others as appropriate, and subject to oversight by the Foundation's Board of Trustees. 3. The Board deliberates at on or more public meetings the various reporting issues identified and analyzed by the staff. 4. The Board issues an Exposure Draft to solicit broad stakeholder input. (In some projects, the Board may issue a Discussion Paper to obtain in the early stages of a project.) 5. The Board holds a public roundtable meeting on the Exposure Draft, if necessary. 6. The staff analyzes comment letters, public roundtable discussion, and any other information obtained through due process activities. The Board redeliberates the proposed provisions, carefully considering the stakeholder input received, at one or more public meetings. 7. The Board issues an Accounting Standards Update describing amendents to the Accounting Standards Codification. WORK CITED www.fasb.org