Inventory of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America.

A full understanding of the pattern of responsibilities and authorities for accounting by business enterprises in the United States requires knowledge of the political and economic history since the establishment of this nation. While such knowledge is presupposed for the purposes of the inventory, it is pertinent to observe that both governmental and economic institutions reflect systems of checks and balances against abuses of power and other human weaknesses. In line with this pattern, the responsibilities and authorities for accounting and financial reporting of business enterprises constitute a mosaic in which the primary responsibility and authority of the board of directors is supplemented by secondary responsibilities and authorities of stock exchanges, regulatory commissions, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and independent Certified Public Accountants (CPA). The nature of the responsibility and correlative authority of each of these groups is described in considerable detail in the inventory. The responsibility and authority of the CPA are dealt with both in respect to the individual practitioner or firm and with respect to the Accounting Principles Board of the Institute.