Staying Relevant through Time: FASAB’s Role in the Industry of Accounting

For industries that have been in the market for a very long period of time, it has always been a challenge on how to stay relevant and keep up with the changes that are happening. Over the course of years, the industry of accounting has proven that there is no problem fitting in the ever-complex world that we are in. It has endured challenges involving strategy and operations, budgetary constraints, and processes and controls. And true enough, the industry of accounting has stood the test of time and has managed to remain one of the most profitable industries behind legal services, and oil and gas extraction even in our modern age where technology continues to change the landscape of every industry. A huge portion of the success is attributed to the growth of accounting outsourcing overseas. But it is undeniable that what really made the industry of accounting as relevant as now is the institution behind it that tirelessly seeks for an area to improve it to avoid exploitation and to serve the public interest.

Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board or FASAB, since it was established on October 10, 1990, has continued to uplift the industry of accounting in the United States. It has stayed true to its mission of serving the public interest by improving federal financial reporting through issuing federal financial accounting standards and providing guidance after considering the needs of external and internal users of federal financial information. The board continues to play a major role in fulfilling the government’s responsibility to be publicly accountable through imposing utilization of financial reports. FASAB urges that financial reports must include financial statements prepared in conformity with generally acceptable accounting principles that are not just essential for public accountability but will also help to the efficient and effective operation of the US’s democratic system of government which subsequently will affect other countries especially those who provides accounting outsourcing services to some companies in the US.

Amazingly, as FASAB gets older it seems that it is also getting steady in finding more and more ways to keep the
industry of accounting in check. In 2016 alone, FASAB has been more productive than usual. They’ve opened the year by issuing the Statement of Federal Financial Accounting Standards 48 that concerns the Opening Balances for Inventory, Operating Materials and Supplies, and Stockpile Materials. By March, they have updated their website—a proof on how much the board prioritizes the utilization of new media in promoting transparency. By midyear, FASAB has requested comments on exposure draft concerning the amendment of SFFAS 5, Accounting for Liabilities of the Federal Government and SFFAS 6, Accounting for Property, Plant, and Equipment. They closed the last quarter of the year showing what they have in store in the future with releases of a survey, an annual report, and a statement for a three-year plan.

In the same annual report, FASAB looks into the possibility of starting up new projects involving Interim Financial Reporting, Reporting Cash Flows, Electronic Reporting, and Managerial Cost Accounting. How it might affect the industry of accounting outsourcing is yet to be determined but it will definitely create a big impact on how the whole industry of accounting can stay as relevant as in the past.

Sources:
http://files.fasab.gov/pdffiles/fasab_annual_report_2016.pdf
http://www.fasab.gov/mission-objectives/
http://www.forbes.com/pictures/feki45efjgh/no-1-accounting-tax-prep/#268f63f750de