Business Report Format

Business Report Format

Note: Discussion responses should be in a business report format. A business report format is a factual report when you refrain from using I, we, and “opinions.” It is also not a question / answer document, but one where you treat it as if you have been asked by your boss to report back to the group on the topic. Providing subtitles and concise wording is also important. For example, here is an example of a business report format for the question comment on the politicization of GAAP. Please, proofread your answer. Remember this is NOT a blog, informal social media post, but instead concise, well thought out thoughts. Adding outside research is also a plus, but make sure you cite (and reword) your sources.

Politicization of GAAP

Background

In 1936, American Institute of Accountant (AIA) and the American Society of Certified Public Accountants formed the largest for professional accountant called American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). This organization has had a huge influenced in accounting theory. This organization sets standards for audits of private companies and other services. The AICPA created different committees and boards, including the Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP), which was the first committee formed by this organization. CAP created the first set of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). In 1959, the AICPA decided to form the Accounting Principles Board (APB) due to several criticisms that the CAP received from accountants and users of financial statements. The principal goal for the APB was to change the method of establishing accounting principles. In 1960, new critics of the development of accounting principles emerged, and the AICPA created two committees, the Wheat Committee and the Trueblood Committee. The APB was abolished and replaced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Since 1960, the primary purpose of FASB has been to establish and improve GAAP. From the creation of the AICPA until now, many accountants have argued that there has been an influence by multiple entities on the development of generally accepted accounting principles.

Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP)

The main focus of this committee was to develop a comprehensive statement of accounting principles. The committee wanted to became more active and attack specific problems using preferred methods of accounting and statements on accounting principles. This committee made two important contributions:

• Uniformity of accounting practices.
• Private sector was established as the source of accounting policy.

However, the CAP was influenced by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a U.S. government agency, on their decisions. The CAP had many critics and several factors, such as lack of consistent standards, contributed to the demise of this committee, which was succeeded by the APB.

Accounting Principles Board (APB)

This Board established the accounting standards between 1959 and 1973. This group had between 17 and 21 members coming from major accounting firms. Some of these members were selected from the government as well. The contributions made by the APB were very small:

• Only 31 opinions and 4 statements were issues during 14 years.
• Some of these opinions are still in use, such as consolidation of financial statements.

Two issues that contributed to the end of the APB and the creation of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) were 1) the need for an independent organization (since many of these members were only part-time within the board) and 2) lack of response for emerging accounting problems.

Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB)

In 1971, the AICPA appointed the Wheat Committee, who established the Financial Accounting Standard Board. Unlike APB members, this organization has 7 members from different organizations that are full-time paid. The Financial Accounting Foundation Board of Trustees appoints these members. In addition, the main goal of this organization is to improve and establish financial accounting standards for public and private organizations that follow GAAP. The FASB focuses on the usefulness of financial reporting, areas of deficiency of financial reporting, promoting the international comparability of financial reporting, and others.

Politicization of Accounting Rule-Making

In every country people, organizations, and businesses are affected by the development of accounting standards. There has been an argument between people that support the politicization of accounting rule-making and those who are against this theory. Below are some arguments that support the politicization of accounting rule-making process:

There are some arguments that support the politicization of accounting standard-setting and they are described below:

• Economic Growth:the government should have certain influence in setting neutral and objective measurement of accounting standards in order to moderate economic growth.
• Non-established accounting standards:the output of governmental agencies in regards to accounting standards could establish and improve them, and it could be good for the society.

There are some arguments that are against the politicization of accounting standard-setting and they are described below:

• Negative effect of political lobbying: standard-setters might receive incentives from governmental agencies in order to obtain benefits for these agencies.
• Conflict of interest:governmental agencies might put their interests first instead of what is the best for the society when it comes to establishing accounting standards.
• Inconsistency over time:the SEC has faced political pressures over time and its position has been inconsistent with the FASB.

Conclusion

The main goal of the FASB is to improve and establish GAAP to provide useful information for users of financial reports. The politicization in the development of GAAP has been taking place over the years. Some of the government influences over time in the selection of accounting standards in United States include the issues of employee stock options and fair value accounting. The politicization of accounting standards can bring positive or negative economic consequences to the society. It is very important that government agencies contribute to the improvement of accounting standards for the economic growth of the society instead of obtaining just their own benefits.

References:

Accounting Tools. Accounting Principle Board. 2018. Retrieved from: https://www.accountingtools.com/articles/accounting-principles-board.html

Adkerson, Richard. Committee on Accounting Procedures. 2018. Retrieved from http://www.sechistorical.org/museum/galleries/rca/rca04a-committee-accounting-procedure.php

Schroeder, Clark, Cathey. Financial Accounting Theory and Analysis. Chapter 1: The Development of Accounting Theory. 2017.

Spiceland, Sepe, Tomassini. Intermedia Accounting. Chapter 1: The Development of Financial Accounting and Reporting

11/14/18

Hello, Students,

Here is some additional direction for you with respect to assignments in Business Report

Format.

The instructions for BRF suggest that students refrain from using pronoun language – I,

we, etc. and use fact-based arguments vs. opinion-based arguments.

However, the rubrics for grading assignments, including those submitted in BRF, evaluate

students  based  upon  their  contribution  and  original  thought  demonstrated  on  their

assignments  by  10-15  points  in  many  cases.  Additionally,  demonstration  of  critical

thinking and well-developed opinions and arguments are important at the master’s level

and are part of the course objectives of this and other courses.

I  can  understand  how  this  guidance  may  seem  to  be  conflicting,  so  I  want  to  provide

clarification for you. BRF and the rubrics I have mentioned were not developed by me,

but they are used widely in the business school, and I have adopted them and support

their use for consistency in student assignments and as a framework to follow. I believe

they are also useful for practical application in the workplace.

I  think  one  key  take-away  is  that  the  opinions  you  report  should  be  expressed  while

making  a  case  that  these  opinions  have  been  formed  after  conducting  appropriate

research and not in place of having read or researched a topic.

There are also many ways in which to state an opinion.

Below is some sample language that I believe is a way of conveying to the reader that

the writer has contributed original thought and insights into the report without using less

desirable first-person language:

In  his  article,  “Big  Data  at  the  Gate,”  John  Rutherford  makes  a  case  for

strengthening  the  training  that  accounting  students  receive  in  the  use  of  audit

software tools. He is not alone in believing that statistics classes that are required

in  the  business  core  curriculum  might  be  replaced  by  data  analytics  to  better

prepare  future  auditors  for  the  practical  aspects  of  the  profession.  Kerry  and

Meckly  (2018)  also  share  Rutherford’s  view  and  further  believe  that  accounting

and finance students should have a completely customized core curriculum track

that  differs  from  other  business  students.  What  neither  author  has  considered,

however,  is  that  universities  serve  multiple  masters  and  that  a  major  curriculum

overhaul cannot be undertaken lightly. While the marketplace may be demanding

new skills  from  the  graduating students, the accrediting  bodies  who  validate  the

curriculum being taught at the universities are unlikely to be aligned with the idea

of radical curriculum changes without a collaborative effort and extensive lobbying.

Note how the sentences I underlined are clearly the writer’s opinion and didn’t come from the  two  sources,  although  the  sentences  don’t  say  “in  my  opinion”  or  “I  think.”    If  you compare  and  contrast  two  sources  (I  made  up  the  two  sources  above),  make  an observation  about  something  the  two  sources  didn’t  consider,  or point  out  what  your sources did a good job of addressing, etc. – that is your opinion, right?

I will also accept use of “in my opinion” and pronoun usage if not overly used. Again, I am looking for your research to fully support your conclusions, which affects your research grade in the rubrics. Your insights affect your original thoughts/contribution grade in the rubrics.

Here’s another way of writing the above – it’s not as well-written as my first example and

uses “in my opinion,” but I don’t think it’s bad writing either:

In my opinion, a radical curriculum change at the university level is not realistic in

the  short-term.  Universities  serve  multiple  masters,  and  a  major  curriculum

overhaul cannot be undertaken lightly. While the marketplace may be demanding

new skills  from  the  graduating students, the accrediting  bodies  who  validate  the

curriculum being taught at the universities are unlikely to be aligned with the idea

of radical curriculum changes without a collaborative effort and extensive lobbying.

In  assignments  where  you  are  asked  to  draw  upon  your  personal  experiences  in  the workplace  or  in  your  education  program,  it  is  also  permissible  to  use  opinion  and  “I” language, as it would be very hard to share without being free to do that. In other words, I wouldn’t be so worried about the language such that the content, if it’s good and pertinent and assigned content, is affected negatively.