بررسی تفاوت های بین اصول حسابداری پذیرفته شده کلی ایالات متحده(GAAP ایالات متحده) و استانداردهای بین المللی حسابداری (IAS) : مفاهیم برای هماهنگ سازی استانداردهای حسابداری

Current trends indicate continued movement towards the harmonization of accounting standards, but not without difficulty and concern. At times, the political and financial market pressure, push the movement in opposite directions. The paper discusses the conceptual framework used in establishing Global Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) (International Accounting Standards, IAS) and U.S. GAAP. Numerous transactional examples are illustrated under both Global GAAP and U.S. GAAP treatment. Several country specific references are presented demonstrating the difficulty in achieving harmonization. Implications for harmonization of accounting standards include arguments “for” and “against” Global GAAP.

Generally Accounting Accepted Principles (GAAP) is a widely used term in the practice of accounting, financial reporting, auditing, and business literature. Researchers differentiate between “big” and “little” GAAP and others reference alternatives to GAAP such as Other Comprehensive Basis of Accounting (OCBOA) or Statutory Accounting Principles (STAT/SSAP). Sister disciplines to accounting such as auditing also use terms like Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS) that parallel GAAP in the accounting discipline. In practice, trading in goods, services, and securities (debt or equity instruments) lead to accounting and financial reporting to ensure continuity of operations, analysis of results for planning and control, and decision-making. In order to improve the legitimacy of accounting information and ensure its reliability and relevancy, accountants use a body of literature and/or a set of practices and “pronouncements with substantial authoritative support” called GAAP (Kieso & Weygandt, 2001). GAAP, however, varies from country to country, and often allow for alternative methods for treating the same set of transactions. GAAP is not static, but a growing body of accounting knowledge in response to business needs; mimicking the national history, economic, social, cultural, political, trading (products/securities), and technological backgrounds.