Government Accounting Standards Board versus Financial Accounting Standards Board

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In accounting, private companies are treated differently than governmental and non-profit companies. However governmental and non-profit companies use different reporting requirements from the private sector. The requirements for governmental companies use the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), whereas profit and non-profit companies use the Financial Accounting Standards Board. This paper will explain the purpose, discus the similarities, and differences between the GASB and FASB.
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is the independent organization that improves and establishes the accounting standards for the United States and local governments. It was established in 1984 by an agreement by the Financial Accounting Foundation and ten national associations of local governments. The mission of the GASB is “to establish and improve standards of the state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports, and to guide and educate the public and users of those financial reports (GASB 2014).” Their four core values are: independence, integrity, objectivity, and transparency. The GASB is not a governmental entity, and it is a component of the Financial Accounting Foundation which is a private sector not for profit entity. The GASB standards are not federal laws or regulations, and the GASB does not enforcement authority. However, the standards are enforceable through the laws of the individual states and the auditing process. The process of a standard being set is by due process, and the Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council consists of thirty members that are appointed by the Financial Accounting Foundation Trustees. Th...

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...ces between FASB and GASB requirements. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 15(1), 41-65. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/205012359?accountid=35796
FASB (2014) Facts about FASB. Retrieved from http://www.fasb.org/jsp/FASB/Page/SectionPage&cid=1176154526495
Fischer, M., & Marsh, T. (2012). TWO ACCOUNTING STANDARD SETTERS: DIVERGENCE CONTINUES FOR NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS. Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 24(3), 429-465. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1231407540?accountid=35796
GASB (2014) Mission, Vision, and Core Values. Retrieved from http://www.gasb.org/jsp/GASB/Page/GASBSectionPage&cid=1175804850352
Mcgraw-Hill, Irwin, (2010) Accounting for the Business-Type Activities of State and Local Governments. Retrieved from http://www.mccc.edu/~horowitk/documents/Chap007_001.pdf

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