Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Accounting Standards In Essay

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Accounting Standards In The USA. Ethics And Accounting Profession - Essay Example I like the field of international accounting, but unfortunately I do not possess the knowledge necessary to become a valuable asset for the IASB. During the past course I took, accounting theory, I learned a lot about the importance of the FASB and how much the principles created by the FASB affect the operations of companies in the domestic U.S. marketplace. I believe that the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 was a game changer in terms of regulations. SOX raised the integrity, credibility, and accountability of all accounting information in the United States of America. The FASB indirectly benefited from the implementation of the Sarbanes Oxley Act because its bylaws were strengthen as a result of this new regulation. When people believe in the accounting numbers published by US corporations they are strengthening its trust in the GAAP and the FASB. In terms of the GASB I am not really interested in governmental accounting. DQ2 The current accounting standards in the United States of Ame rica are ethically based. Ethics and integrity are two of the values that all accountants uphold at all times when working the profession. The generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) represent the bible for accountants. Ethics is taken into consideration in accounting in many circumstances. For instance the principle of conservatism states that when in doubt an accountant should always underestimate revenues. Sales forecasting techniques such as the Delphi method should be implemented taking into consideration the principle of conservatism. During the past nine years the accounting profession has increased its credibility with the inception of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. The CEOs and top executives of the company including the CFO and controller are personally liable if the financial statements of their company are full of material error or fraudulent activity. SOX also created better internal controls and the integration of auditor independence. Accounting students sinc e the undergraduate level are taught that ethics is an extremely important aspect of accounting work. The curriculums of universities should include more courses in pure ethics as part of the curriculum of business administration. At the corporate level most companies have code of conducts that integrate ethics into its bylaws. DQ3 Ethics are extremely important to the accounting profession. Accountants form close business relationship with their clients. Trust, loyalty, and high ethical conduct are expected from all accountants. Accountants work as facilitators of financial information for internal and external stakeholders. Some of the stakeholders that depend on information provided by accountants include investors, suppliers, lenders, employees, customers, government and the community. The ethics bar was raised nine years ago when the U.S Congress and the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) worked together to create the Sarbanes Oxley Act. Section 802 of the Sarbanes Oxley Ac t imposes criminal penalties for altering, destroying, mutilating, concealing, falsifying records, documents or tangible objects with the intent to obstruct impede or influence a legal investigation (Soxlaw, 2003). I think that justice was served in the Enron case because some of the executives received jail time. When ethics are not in play in the accounting profession a lot of criminal activity can occur. Deceptive accountants can defraud the government out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by falsifying information in the personal tax returns of their clients. Unethical accountants also do not comply with the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). It is the duty of all accountants to comply with GAAP. Soxlaw.com (2003). Sarbanes-Oxley Act Section 802. Retrieved