ACCOUNTING
The expectations for qualification in the profession of accounting vary between
different jurisdictions and countries.Accountants may be certified by a variety
of organisations or bodies, such as the Association of Accounting Technicians
(AAT),[5] British qualified accountancy bodies including the Chartered Institute
of Management Accountants (CIMA), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants
(ACCA) and Institute of Chartered Accountants, and are recognised by titles
such as Chartered Management Accountant (ACMA or FCMA) Chartered Certified Accountant
(ACCA or FCCA) and Chartered Accountant (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada,
India, Pakistan, South Africa, Ghana), Certified Public Accountant (Ireland,
Japan, US, Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines), Certified Management Accountant
(Canada, U.S.), Certified General Accountant (Canada), or Certified Practicing
Accountant (Australia). Some Commonwealth countries (Australia and Canada) often
recognise both the certified and chartered accounting bodies. The majority of
"public" accountants in New Zealand and Canada are Chartered Accountants;
however, Certified General Accountants are also authorised by legislation to
practice public accounting and auditing in all Canadian provinces, except Ontario
and Quebec, as of 2005. There is, however, no legal requirement for an accountant
to be a paid-up member of one of the many Institutes and other bodies which
are effectively a form of professional trade union.
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (USA)
In the U.S., generally accepted accounting principles, commonly abbreviated
as US GAAP or simply GAAP, are accounting rules used to prepare, present, and
report financial statements for a wide variety of entities, including publicly-traded
and privately-held companies, non-profit organizations, and governments. Generally
GAAP includes local applicable Accounting Framework, related accounting law,
rules and Accounting Standard.Similar
to many other countries practicing under the common law system, the United States
government does not directly set accounting standards, in the belief that the
private sector has better knowledge and resources. US GAAP is not written in
law, although the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires that
it be followed in financial reporting by publicly-traded companies. Currently,
the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is the highest authority in
establishing generally accepted accounting principles for public and private
companies, as well as non-profit entities. For local and state governments,
GAAP is determined by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB), which
operates under a set of assumptions, principles, and constraints, different
from those of standard private-sector GAAP. Financial reporting in federal government
entities is regulated by the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB).The
US GAAP provisions differ somewhat from International Financial Reporting
Standards, though efforts are underway to reconcile differences in
principles so that financial statements created under international standards
will be considered acceptable within the United States, and US GAAP financial
statements will be acceptable internationally.
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) are standards and interpretations
adopted by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Many of the
standards forming part of IFRS are known by the older name of International
Accounting Standards (IAS). IAS were issued between 1973 and 2001 by the board
of the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC). In April 2001 the
IASB adopted all IAS and continued their development, calling the new standards
IFRS.IFRS are used in many parts of the world, including the European Union,
Hong Kong, Australia,India, GCC countries Russia, South Africa and Singapore
Nearly 100 countries currently require or permit the use of, or have a policy
of convergence with, IFRSs.US companies registered with the United States Securities
and Exchange Commission must file financial statements prepared in accordance
with US GAAP. Until 2007, foreign private issuers were required to file financial
statements prepared either (a) under US GAAP or (b) in accordance with local
accounting principles or IFRS with a footnote reconciling from local principles
or IFRS to US GAAP. This reconciliation imposed extra expense on companies which
are listed on exchanges both in the US and another country. From 2008, foreign
private issuers are additionally permitted to file financial statements in accordance
with IFRS as issued by the IASB without reconciliation to US GAAP.