A MESSAGE FROM THE FASB CHAIR
In 2023, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) celebrates 50 years of standard setting. We dedicate this milestone to you and to all our stakeholders, past and present, from Main Street to Wall Street, whose participation in the standard-setting process has been essential to building the strong body of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) that exists today.
Since the FASB held its very first meeting on March 8, 1973, Board and staff members have worked to earn the responsibility entrusted to us: to develop and improve accounting and reporting standards that provide useful information to investors and other allocators of capital. We do it through an inclusive, thorough standard-setting process that incorporates diverse views representing all corners of the U.S. capital markets.
Over the years, we’ve engaged thousands of investors and other users of public company, private company, and not-for-profit financial statements, as well as preparers, auditors, and academics for input on our projects and initiatives. We’ve met with hundreds of SEC and other regulatory and elected leaders to ensure we meet the needs of their diverse constituencies. And we’ve collaborated with our international counterparts to work toward greater quality and comparability of accounting standards across the globe.
The result is an ever-evolving body of accounting standards that adapts to the emerging needs of our capital markets—and a structure and approach that have been replicated by accounting standard setters worldwide.
The process succeeds because of you. Your views and insights inform all phases of our work, from pre-agenda research and agenda consultation through our deliberation of projects on our technical agenda, and continuing through our post-implementation review of major standards to ensure they’re performing as intended.
Please continue to share your input and participate in our process. We, in turn, pledge to continue to do our best to develop the best standards possible.
On behalf of my colleagues on the FASB, thank you for joining us on this journey.
Richard R. Jones