Accounting Regulatory Bodies Paper

Essay by crazy123College, UndergraduateA, December 2008

download word file, 3 pages 5.0

There are many different accounting regulatory bodies and each one is very important when it comes to accounting and the effects the accounting process has on the organization or company. The overall goal of these accounting regulatory bodies is to establish rules and regulations, ensure the rules and regulations are being met, and to help improve the standards of financial accounting for the organization. This paper will examine the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and discuss how an organization complies with the standards of these regulatory bodies.

The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) is an independent, nonpartisan regulatory agency with responsibility for administering the federal securities laws (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2008). The SEC was created by Congress to regulate the securities market, protect investors, and prevent corporate abuse involving the offering and sale of securities and corporate reporting.

The SEC is made up of five commissioners appointed by the U.S. President and approved by the Senate. The SEC protects investors by promoting full public disclosure and fraudulent and controlling practices in the securities sector. To comply with the SEC all public companies Annual reports are to include a report from management about the company's internal control over financial reporting, and are required to disclose their financial information to the public (Phillips, Libby, Libby, 2003). The SEC also partners with many other institutions such as Congress, state securities regulatory, self-regulatory organizations and various private sector organizations (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 2008).

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a private not for profit organization whose primary function is to develop generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) within the United States in the public's interest (Center for Audit Quality, 2004-2008). The...