FASB Accounting Standards Codification

Volume 2009 / Issue 15

September 3, 2009

 The Financial Accounting Standards Board issued Statement No. 168, The FASB Accounting Standards Codification and the Hierarchy of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, in June 2009.  The issuance of Statement No. 168 authorized the Codification as the sole source of authoritative accounting guidance in the United States.  Accounting guidance in the Codification has equal levels of authority, and guidance not included in the Codification will be considered non-authoritative.  This contrasts to varying levels of accounting guidance previously issued by the FASB in the form of Statements of Financial Accounting Standards, FASB Staff Bulletins, FASB Interpretations, and Emerging Issues Task Force Abstracts.  Entities previously were required to work through the varying levels of guidance in order to identify accounting policies meeting the highest level of authority.   

SFAS No. 168 is effective for financial statements issued for reporting periods ending after September 15, 2009.  Entities are encouraged to begin working with the Codification with specific attention to accessing new research tools, and review of existing accounting policies to ensure that the policies are authoritative guidance.