The Accounting Principles Board (APB) is the former authoritative body of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It was created by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in 1959 and issued pronouncements on accounting principles until 1973, when it was replaced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).Vangermeersch, Richard. "Accounting Principles Board (1959-1973)." History of Accounting: An International Encyclopedia, edited by Michael Chatfield and Richard Vangermeersch. New York: Garland Publishing, 1996. Pp. 11-15.full-text
The APB was disbanded in the hopes that the smaller, fully independent FASB could more effectively create accounting standards. The APB and the related Securities Exchange Commission were unable to operate completely independently of the U.S. government. According to the SEC, "the overall record of the APB was a reasonably good one, but it seems likely that a smaller full-time body directly in control of its research holds promise of more success". Among others, Abraham Briloff was critical of some actions of the Accounting Principles Board. In response to APB 17, Briloff referred to the APB as the "Accounting Pragmatics Board".Briloff, Abraham J. 1972. Unaccountable Accounting. New York: Harper & Row.
Of the 31 APB opinions and 4 statements, several were instrumental in improving the theory and practice of significant areas of accounting. Many have been superseded by FASB pronouncements; 19 opinions still stand as part of generally accepted accounting principles:
+ Opinion Number Subject Description Date Issued2Accounting for the Investment CreditDiscusses the Revenue Act of 1962 and provides accounting standards for the "investment credit."December 19624Accounting for the Investment CreditClarifies whether the “investment credit” should be considered as part of net income. March 19646Status of Accounting Research BulletinsReviewed the ARB and incorporated needed revisions. October 19659Reporting the Results of OperationsDiscusses the reporting requirements of 1) net income and extraordinary items and 2) computation of earnings per November 196610Omnibus Opinion—1966Provides authoritative guidance on consolidated financial statements, tax allocation accounts, taxes payable, and activities related to stocks. December 196612Omnibus Opinion—1967Provides authoritative guidance on allowances, depreciation, deferred compensation, capital changes and debt. December 196714Accounting for Convertible Debt and Debt Issued with Stock PurchaseProvides authoritative guidance related to accounting and reporting for convertible debt. March 196916Business CombinationsProvides guidance regarding the appropriate accounting and reporting of business combinations. August 197017Intangible AssetsProvides accounting guidance for reporting goodwill and other intangible assets.August 197018The Equity Method of Accounting for Investments in Common StockProvides guidance for determining when the equity method should be applied to common stock. March 197120Accounting ChangesDefines various types of accounting changes and establishes guidelines for determining the appropriate reporting of each type. July 197121Interest on Receivables and PayablesClarifies when interest should be applied to receivables and payables. August 197122Disclosure of Accounting PoliciesProvides guidance related to the disclosure of accounting principles in the financial statements. April 197223Accounting for Income Taxes—Special AreasEstablishes accounting and reporting guidelines for subsidiaries, intangible development costs, and various April 197225Accounting for Stock Issued to EmployeesEstablishes accounting and reporting guidelines for stock provided as compensation to employees. October 197226Early Extinguishment of DebtProvides guidelines for accounting for the differences between debt issues. October 197228Interim Financial ReportingClarifies accounting principles related to interim financial reporting. May 197329Accounting for Nonmonetary TransactionsVerifies that nonmonetary transactions should be valued based on their fair values, except in a limited number of cases in which nonmonetary exchanges are not considered to be the culmination of an earnings process.30Reporting the Results of OperationsDiscusses the proper disclosure of discontinued operations, as well as the reporting of gains or losses from business disposals. It also defines those transactions that should be categorized as extraordinary items.
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