...Accounting Regulatory Bodies University of Phoenix Principles of Accounting ACC/300 Financial accounting is necessary for managers to make educated decisions for future operations based on accurate company financial data. The company’s accountants also prepare financial reports on a regular basis to provide company financial information and performance to external audiences such as investors, creditors, and auditors. These reports must conform to the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) which were put in place by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and enforced by several other agencies. This paper will discuss some of these regulatory bodies and how a company must comply with these agencies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other regulatory bodies set accounting standards and requirements for accounting reporting frequency and presentation. The SEC was created in during the great depression in 1934 following the stock market crash in 1929.The SEC was initially created to regulate the stock market and prevent large corporations from abusing the sale and reporting of stocks. The SEC enforces seven major laws that govern the trading industry: the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act...
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...four major regulatory bodies. These bodies were created by the United States to help maintain accurate and proper reporting. The first is the Securities and Exchange Commission. This body helps protect investors by ensuring they have all the proper reports and data to make sound and precise investment decisions. If these reports are in any way false or misleading this accounting body can bring up civil charges against the company. The second major regulatory body is the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. This regulatory body was created to help represent accountants. This body helps provide education and knowledge to accounts and companies. They also make sure that all ethical and technical guidelines are followed. The third major regulatory body is Financial Accounting Standards Board. This body takes care of the nongovernmental establishments. They make sure companies are following the proper guidelines and rules. They enforce national accounting standards to create accurate and trust worthy reports and data. They were created to improve and maintain the current accounting standards. The fourth and final major regulatory body is the Governmental Accounting Standards Board. This regulatory body deals with government based companies and their accounting standards. They set the rules and established the guidelines that govern and maintain the accounting world in government. They do a lot of the same jobs as the other major regulatory bodies. They maintain...
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...Regulatory Bodies The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is probably the most known regulatory body in the United States. The IRS main purpose is the management and enforcement of all internal revenue laws and for the collection of taxes. The next regulatory body is the Securities Exchange commission (SEC). The SEC main goal is to observe public companies to ensure these public companies are following the generally accepted accounting principles when reporting their company’s financial data. The administration and finances of several regulatory boards and councils such as the financial accounting standards board, the financial accounting standards advisory council, governmental accounting standards advisory council, and the governmental accounting standards board is the responsibility of Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) (Weygandt, Kimmel, & Kieso, 2008). The Financial Accounting Standards Board (GASB) main purpose is the developing, enforcing the standards in accounting and reporting for all non-governmental entities. The formulation of Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) was because of the need for all government levels to have standard accounting principles. The GASB created and implemented the generally accepted accounting principles. This board mirrored the financial accounting standard board on state and local levels. The Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) is a regulatory body whose main purpose is to distribute the federal...
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...250 – 300 words, answer the following, What are the major regulatory bodies and their functions? According to the appendix H in our weekly readings, it list nine major regulatory bodies in the United States. The first one is the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and its purpose is to administer and enforce the internal revenue laws. The second major body is the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They require public companies to adhere to the GAAP and regulate the securities markets. The next major regulatory body is listed as the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF). This is listed as a private sector organization to create standards for financial accounting. The fourth body is the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). This body was created by our previous body, the FAF, and they set up standards for nongovernment financial accounting and reporting. Our fifth body to discuss is called Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and they are the counterpart of FASB for the state and local levels. The next regulatory body is called the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB). This body was established in 1990 in order to produce GAAP for the federal government. Now we come to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). They develop standards through the international consultation process with people from various countries across the world. The eighth body is the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB). They were established to issue...
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...transactions cleared and settled through its facilities. In furtherance of these duties, Bursa Malaysia has put in place a comprehensive and effective regulatory and supervisory framework to regulate the market and its participants, including the listed issuers and their directors and advisers, Participating Organisations, Trading Participants, Clearing Participants, Authorised Depository Agents and Authorised Direct Members. In this respect, Bursa Malaysia has issued various sets of rules to stipulate the requirements that need to be met by the regulated entities either upon admission and/or on a continuing basis. It administers and monitors compliance with these rules and takes strict, prompt and objective enforcement action for breaches of these rules. Bursa Malaysia actively supervises the listed issuers and the brokers. It also undertakes surveillance over the trading activities in the marketplace. Bursa Malaysia’s overriding objectives, in addition to discharging its statutory duties, are investor protection, transparency, high standards of conduct and governance, market integrity and that all relevant persons can participate in our market with confidence. The regulatory functions are performed and managed by Regulation Functional Group which is helmed by the Chief Regulatory Officer. As a measure to ensure independence of the regulatory function, the Chief...
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...There are many different regulatory bodies that have several different purposes and functions the ones I have listed are not in any particular order. For example the Internal Revenue Service also known as IRS is the federal agency which is responsible for enforcing and administering the United States Department of Treasury revenue laws through the collection and assessment of taxes, determination of pension plan qualifications and even related activities (www.irs.gov). Another is the Securities and Exchange Commission known as the SEC; this is an independent federal agency which is responsible for regulating securities markets where stocks and bonds of major companies are traded. There is also the Financial Accounting Standards Board the FASB that is the largest independent US body that is responsible for establishing and interpreting the accounting standards and practices that are known as the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) is a regulatory body that develops standards for auditing and other services performed by certified public accountants. The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is the entity which is responsible for setting the generally acceptable accounting principles used by state and local governments and just like the aforementioned Securities and Exchange Commission; the GASB is a non-governmental, private organization. One regulatory body has a name that is sometimes jokingly...
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...The major accounting regulatory bodies would include the Securities and Exchange Commission, American Institute of Certified Public, Financial Accounting Standards Board, and Government Accounting Board. Each regulatory body contributes to the ethical over watch of companies by keeping them transparent, follow GAAP, and other ethical practices that should be used by accountants and their companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission regulates companies in how they report their financial statements and to make sure that investors receive all necessary information that involves investment decisions. This commission helps ensure that investors are not deceived and allows them to make better investment decisions. The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants sets guidelines and standards on how companies should be audited, and set standards in accounting practices that certified public accountants should follow. Like the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Financial Accounting Standards Board sets up standards for companies and how they should be reporting their financial reports. Companies that follow the FASB standards can provide more accurate financial information than those who do not. It is important to note that the FASB is for the private sector, the compliment to this regulatory body would be the Government Accounting Standards Board who sets standards for government agencies, programs, and bodies. The GASB is crucial for the federal government...
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...Regulatory Bodies Internal Revenue Service is 1of 9 regulatory bodies its purpose is to administer and enforce the Internal Revenue laws. Securities and Exchange Commission the mission of this regulatory body is to protect investors maintain fair orderly and efficient markets and a silicate capital. Financial Accounting Foundation Its mission is to “Establish financial accounting and reporting standards, through an independent and open process, resulting in financial reports that provide decision-useful information. Financial Accounting Standards Board The mission of FASB is “to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information. Governmental Accounting Standards Board The mission of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board is to establish and improve standards of state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports and guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports. Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board The mission of the FASAB is to promulgate federal accounting standards after considering the financial and budgetary information needs of citizens, congressional oversight groups, executive agencies, and the needs of other users of federal financial information. International Accounting Standards Board The...
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...Definition There is significance between accounting harmonisation and accounting standardisation where harmonisation allows countries to have different accounting standards provided that they do not have logical conflict with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Therefore the accounting standards in different countries are not identical but very similar from one to another which allows convergence of accounting practices. However, standardisation of accounting has the direct opposite meaning of harmonisation where the standardisation requires all accounting practices in various countries to be exactly the same. Harmonisation tends to be associated with IASB which carries out the process of coordination whereas standardisation is the process of uniformity that can be seen in the European Union (EU) where transnational legislation occurs. According to various accounting scholars, they said it is important to distinguish between harmonisation of accounting practices (de facto) and harmonisation of accounting regulations (de jure). De facto is often associates with harmonisation while de jure is associated with standardisation. Reasons for Harmonisation RELIABILITY OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE USERS One of the reasons that international harmonisation of accounting standards should be carried out is to ensure comparability, reliability and quality of financial reports and disclosure of foreign enterprises. This allows investors and financial analysts to understand...
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...ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS ACCOUNTING STANDARDS & REGULATIONS During the year 2002, the accounting profession was subjected to a series of highly publicized scandals. For example, it was discovered that the prestigious Arthur Andersen firm had played a role in the fraudulent reporting practices that led to the bankruptcy of the Enron Corporation. Andersen accountants had helped the company hide its losses, and had shredded important documents that were relevant to the case. In June 2002, Andersen was found guilty of obstructing justice, was fined $500,000, and was sentenced to five years probation (Sachdev, n. p.). Also during 2002, the telecommunications firm WorldCom was found guilty of fraud as a result of having “improperly accounted for more than $3.8 billion of expenses” (Klein, 2002, p. 1). Other companies too, such as Tyco, Qwest, and Adelphia Communications, all became involved in accounting- related scandals. These various scandals had a negative impact on public views regarding the accounting profession. As stated in an article in the CPA Letter, the high-profile business failures of Enron and others “called into question the effectiveness of the profession’s self-regulatory process as well as the effectiveness of the audit to uphold the public trust in the capital market” (Landmark accounting reform, 2002, p. 1). Many people began arguing for stricter regulations in the accounting industry. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), for...
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...Surrounding the Professionalism of Accounting | | 3.0 Literature Review | | 4.0 Presentation of the main Idea about the Professionalism of Accounting | | 5.0 Analysis and discussion | | 6.0 Conclusion | | 7.0 Reference | | 1.0 INTRODUCTION 2.0 ISSUES SURROUNDING THE PROFESSIONALISM OF ACCOUNTING Twenty years ago, Briloff (1986) alerted the profession to the crisis of credibility being faced because society perceived accountants to have lost their commitment to public service. The credibility of the profession is threatened when the ideals of integrity, independence, public service and ethical standards come under suspicion. Well-known scandals of one of the major leading accounting firms in the United States Arthur Andersen coupled with alleged unethical acts committed by Enron have arouse the conscious of the public and stakeholders as to the moral decline and unethical posture of public accountants unveiled a decline in moral reasoning and ethical standards of public accountants (Dellaportas, 2006; Esmond-Kiger, 2004). Over the last few years, the accounting profession has been beaten up badly in the media, somewhat justifiably. The forces at work were numerous and complex and a variety of phenomena created the entire profession had its reputation tarnished. Some forces were not new: delivering services that acted to impair independence; becoming too cozy with clients, active participation in finding ways to circumvent accounting standards, and even simple...
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... Auditing disclosures play an important role within accounting reports as they provide a level of assurance to the users (public). These disclosures will be discussed in light of the collapse of Health International Holdings (HIH). The HIH collapse warranted a Royal Commission investigation and also recorded the biggest corporate collapse in Australia's history. Corporate failures of similar magnitude such as Enron and Parmalat have occurred elsewhere and sparked large scale investigation and media scrutiny. In all of these corporate failures, the level or absence of disclosure has had a lot to do with the unexpectedness of the collapse. This paper analyses the HIH collapse within a Foucaldian framework to demonstrate the need for accountants and auditors to work together so as to avoid criticism of the profession arising from unexpected corporate failures in the future. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this paper is to analyse the collapse of HIH and the role of its auditor, Andersen, within a Foucauldian framework encompassing archeology and genealogy of power and knowledge. The mythical Jedi force is used as a metaphor for power attained by the accounting profession through its claim to superior knowledge and skill to be applied in the public interest. Accordingly, the force includes professional ethics. The dark side is used as a metaphor for the collapse of HIH because accounting standards and practices, the accounting profession's power base, were used to conceal impending...
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...Regulatory Bodies The Internal Revenue Service is there to administer and to enforce the internal revenue laws. The second one is Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). They are in place to make to make business to adhere to the GAAP and regulate the securities markets. The third one is The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF). This is a privet sector organization to help keep the standards for the financial accounting. The fourth on is the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) put in to place for to help keep up the standards for nongovernment financial accounting and reporting. The fifth one is the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is a part of the FASB that are of the state and local levels. The sixth on is the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) is the one that develop the accounting standards. The FASAB was put in order in1990 to help put together the GAAP for the federal government. The Seventh on is, International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) is the ones that makes sure that all the International accounting laws are followed. They are the ones that developed the standards going through other countries across the world. The eighth on is, Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is the ones that come up with the auditing standards for the public auditing firms. All accounting firms have to register with the (PCAOB). The (PCAOB) are there to make sure that accounting work is being done right. If there is something not being...
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...What are the benefits of international financial reforting standards since thier adaption at the beginnng of the 21st? essay EXECUTIVE SUMMARY International Financial reporting Standards IFRS as a recent accounting phenomenon has drawn the attentions of Accountant, financial institutions and financial managers, multinational companies, government, financial regulatory institutions and in all the participants in capital market. This research is aim at examining the benefits of IFRS as against the present realities in the 21st century. In this work , review of literatures was carried out to ascertain the reasons for the adoption of IFRS, comparison were also made between existing US GAAP and IFRS using SWOT analysis in order to establish efficiency over other national GAAP. And from the report we can see that the usefulness of internationally recognized standard cannot be over emphasized as it cuts across all the spheres of the economy. Like the capital market, investors, globally etc. The research also established the improvement that IFRS upheld through its transparency, transactional cost reduction and reduction in complexity of financial statement. This is due to multiplicity of standards, although some weaknesses were encountered in the use of the standard. These include that the standard is principled based which makes it difficult to be compared with the other standards. We have also analysed the need for enforcement of the standard so that it will be same globally. There...
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...the convergence project, between the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) (FASB, 2002). This paper will also provide a brief history of the relationships between the two boards, and the equivalents between IASB and FASB. Along with an explanation of how the Master of Science in Accountancy Program helps prepare students for a professional life, within the accounting vocation. Accounting Standards Boards Within each country, there are different types of governments who follow different sets of regulations and require different accounting standards. With the current growth of global commerce, companies conducting business abroad require more consideration in there accounting, versus a business who only conducts commerce in one country. Many countries do not have the same level of regulation boards as the United States, who follows the standard set of principles by FASB, because of the accounting reporting differences, it is extremely important for any global organization to use IASB for best financial practices on a global scale. However with such a high-demand for global commerce, following different sets and types of accounting regulations has caused confusion and has become cumbersome to the stakeholders involved in international commerce (FASB, 2003). National Regulatory Boards Local and state laws, plus a host of regulatory commissions establish a regulatory environment for organizations that operate either...
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