Having proper up-to-date information about Generally Acceptable
Accounting
Principles (GAAP) could be very useful. Many Canadian accountants have the burden of having two similar standards to contend with, Canadian and American. Soon a third, international, will rise in prominence. These standards are available in publication form either in hard copy or disk from the CICA in
Canada
and the AICPA in the
United States
. What I was asked to determine was the possible existence of websites which accountants could refer to at little of no cost.
Ideally we should have access to a website where specific questions can be addressed or researched. Several sites do exist but vary in how helpful they are. Somewhat ironically, the most difficult to access are those dealing with Canadian GAAP. This is likely due to the fact that for many years accounting and auditing standards have been set by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accounts (CICA).
US
GAAP, on the other hand, has always been the responsibility of the Financial
Accounting
Standards Board (FASB), an independent body. Their website, www.fasb.org, provides abstracts and emerging issues that can be reviewed and printed. The site also includes a search function to make locating specific information easier. However, it was not designed to answer general accounting of auditing inquiries. For these matters a link redirects the user to the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) at www.aicpa.org. Once here you will need a membership to get specific answers to your queries.
International standards are governed by the International
Accounting
Standards Board (IASB) and can be accessed at www.iasb.org. Again there is a search function and summaries of abstracts for review. A good feature of this site is that one can download updates. A section titled Products and Services/Online Services can be very helpful, but you will need to become a subscriber. Another useful site is www.iasplus.com. This website is maintained by Deloitte to provide information about international financial reporting. One can also find a series of publications that can be saved in .pdf format. What could be particularly helpful is the e-learning facility. You must register, but this is free and afterwards a good list of topics is available. This alone would make it the most useful site explored. However, I personally found problems circumventing my security settings to allow access. For those with more versatile computers, I would recommend a visit.
What would be most useful is a site dedicated to Canadian standards. However, if one were to google this topic he/she would be directed to the CICA website, www.cica.ca. A number of articles are available to download for free, mainly draft accounting standards, so it merits a visit. However, inquiries about handbook issues will redirect to a knotia website where one is prompted to provide a CA member number. If anyone is aware of a site where Canadian GAAP or other standards can be referenced, then please send me an e-mail to my attention by using the general inquiries form at www.thegaap.net.
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