Just Around the Corner – FASB Codification Becomes a Reality

On May 1st,2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued its first weekly alert leading up to the official rollout of the Codification of accounting standards. On July 1st, 2009, the FASB Codification will become the official and only level of authoritative GAAP (nongovernmental), other than guidance issued by the SEC. Accountants, me included, have long been frustrated by the myriad of standards to sift through from different sources, such as Statements (FAS), Interpretations (FIN), Emerging Issues Task Force (EITF) and other authoritative literature. As a consequence, it is sometimes difficult to determine if all guidance on a particular topic has been reviewed or how to interpret what may be conflicting instructions from different sources. Codification is not creating new GAAP, but rather organizing existing GAAP into a structure that streamlines the research process.

I encourage you visit the link below and register for access on the FASB website to explore the new structure. It is well laid out and very easy to navigate.

http://asc.fasb.org/home

I will be discussing this topic more as we approach July 1st. Please stay tuned!