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Roundtable: Is FASB making the grade?
Author(s) -
Alper Merlin L.,
Peters Aulana L.,
Sorter George H.,
Wyatt Arthur R.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
journal of corporate accounting and finance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1097-0053
pISSN - 1044-8136
DOI - 10.1002/jcaf.3970030207
Subject(s) - accounting , financial accounting , context (archaeology) , business , flexibility (engineering) , mark to market accounting , accounting standard , accounting information system , economics , management , paleontology , biology
Although responsible for certain accounting standards that some of its constituents “love to hate,” the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has already outlasted its predecessor, the Accounting Principles Board, by five years. Recently FASB has faced criticism from both preparers and users of financial statements, leading many to wonder about its life expectancy. Preparers complain about standards overload, cookbook accounting, high costs of implementation, and anticompetitiveness. Regulators complain about “once upon a time accounting” or flawed standards allowing too much flexibility in application. In this context, four leading members of the accounting and business community were asked to participate in an Executive Enterprises' conference panel that assessed FASB's performance to date. Their evaluations of that performance, both positive and negative, are included in this article.