GASB and FASB Analysis Paper.

Governmental Accounting Standards Board and Financial Accounting Standards Board

In this paper I will be discussing the objectives of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The GASB was organized to establish standards of financial accounting and reporting for state and local government entities. The FASB was organized to establish standards of financial accounting and reporting for the private sector. (www. gasb.org)

The mission of both boards is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports, and to guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports. Each board issues standards that improve the usefulness of financial reports based on the needs of financial users. Each board also improves the common understanding of the nature and purposes of information contained in financial reports.

They also consider significant areas of accounting and financial reporting that can be improved through the standard-setting process.

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The boards also develop and use concepts to guide its work of establishing standards and providing a frame of reference or conceptual framework for resolving accounting issues.

The GASB and FASB are different in these aspects. The FASB keeps standards current to reflect changes in the economic environment and the GASB keeps standards current to reflect changes in the governmental environment. The makeup of the boards are the same, each has seven members, but the members of the GASB works on a part-time basis and may be employed by another organization. The FASB board members are appointed to five year terms, works full-time and must sever all connections with the firms or institutions they served prior to being appointed. (www.fasb.org)Government financial reports, in common with private sector financial reports, are not intended to provide...