Do Something Different

While many businesses assume that accountants are bound by generally accepted accounting practices and that these are inviolate, nothing could be further from the truth. Everything is subject to interpretation, and GAAP is no different. For one thing, GAAP themselves permit alternative accounting methods to be used for certain expenses and for revenue in certain specialized types of businesses. For another, GAAP methods require that decisions be made about the timing for recording revenue and expenses, or they require that key factors be quantified. Deciding on the timing of revenue and expenses and putting definite values on these factors require judgments, estimates and interpretations. The mission of GAAP over the years has been to standardize accounting methods in order to bring about uniformity across all businesses. But alternative methods are still permitted for certain basic business expenses. No tests are required to determine whether one method is more preferable than another...

UK accountancy is somewhat different from American accountancy, in that there are more regulatory standards for accounting in the UK than in America. In America, companies must follow the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) set down by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The UK uses the generally accepted accounting principles as a standard for accounting in UK companies. However, there are other guidelines accountants in the UK must consider. UK accountants must also consider the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) set forth by the European Union (EU). These international financial reporting standards were developed in an attempt to streamline the financial reports from UK companies as well as companies in other European nations. This makes financial reporting easier to understand by everyone. The international financial reporting standards also allow UK businesses to more easily compare their financial statements to those of companies in other nation...