gasb website：https://www.gasb.org

gasb website

gasb website：https://www.gasb.org

About the GASB
Established in 1984, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) is the independent, private- sector organization based in Norwalk, Connecticut, that establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for U.S. state and local governments that follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

The GASB standards are recognized as authoritative by state and local governments, state Boards of Accountancy, and the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). The GASB develops and issues accounting standards through a transparent and inclusive process intended to promote financial reporting that provides useful information to taxpayers, public officials, investors, and others who use financial reports.

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) supports and oversees the GASB. Established in 1972, the FAF is the independent, private-sector, not-for-profit organization responsible for the oversight, administration, financing, and appointment of the GASB and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

GASB Mission
The mission of the GASB is to establish and improve standards of state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will:

Result in useful information for users of financial reports, and
Guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports.

The mission is accomplished through a comprehensive and independent process that encourages broad participation, objectively considers all stakeholder views, and is subject to oversight by the Foundation’s Board of Trustees.

Why the GASB’s Work Is Important
The GASB’s standards help its stakeholders make determinations about the ability of their government to provide services and to retire debt and help government officials demonstrate accountability, including stewardship over public resources. They also help ensure that those who finance government or who participate in the financing process have access to relevant, reliable, understandable, and consistent information that assists them in making better informed decisions.

Board Members
The seven members of the GASB include a chair and a vice chair. Board members are appointed by the FAF Board of Trustees generally for 5-year terms; they may serve up to 10 years. The chair is appointed for a single 7-year term. The vice chair and the remaining five members serve on a part-time basis. The chair serves full time. GASB members are required to have knowledge of governmental accounting and finance and a concern for the public interest in matters of accounting and financial reporting.

Diverse Perspectives
Diversity of perspective is a critical component of the GASB’s standard-setting process and, by extension, the composition of its Board. Current membership of the GASB is as follows:

Current Member Classification
Joel Black (Chair) Public Accounting
Jeffrey J. Previdi (Vice Chair) Financial Statement User
Brian W. Caputo Local Preparer
Kristopher E. Knight State Preparer
Dianne E. Ray State Auditor
Jacqueline L. Reck Academic
Carolyn Smith Local Auditor
GASB Member Selection Process
The FAF strives on behalf of the GASB to identify and install candidates reflecting a diversity of experiences and backgrounds. To ensure a balance of perspectives on the GASB, the Appointments committee of the FAF Trustees seeks Board nominations from a wide array of stakeholders, including key stakeholder organizations/associations representing financial statement users, preparers, and auditors, as well as professional search firms.

Advisory Council
The Governmental Accounting Standards Advisory Council (GASAC) was formed in 1984 concurrent with the establishment of the GASB.

The primary function of GASAC is to advise the Board on issues related to projects on the Board’s agenda, possible new agenda items, project priorities, procedural matters that may require the attention of the GASB, and other matters as requested by the chair of the GASB. GASAC meetings provide the Board with an opportunity to hear the views of a very diverse group of individuals from varied professional and occupational backgrounds.

To assure that a diversity of views will be represented, the members of the GASAC consist of not fewer than 20 persons appointed by the Financial Accounting Foundation’s Board of Trustees. GASAC members are required to be, in the judgment of the Trustees, knowledgeable about the issues involving, and the impact of, accounting and financial reporting by state and local governmental entities, or to possess an expertise of value to the GASB.

Consultative Groups and Task Forces
To gain additional issue-specific input and feedback, the GASB also assembles consultative groups and task forces. Consultative groups are formed for pre-agenda research that is expected to be extensive and to address a broad or fundamental portion of the accounting and financial reporting standards. Task forces are assembled for most major projects on the Board’s current technical agenda.

Both serve as sounding boards, providing feedback to the GASB as research activities and projects progress. Appointed by the GASB Chair, members typically have a particular expertise or experience with the issue at hand and also are capable of articulating the views of other, similar stakeholders.