Financial Accounting Standards Board

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a private standard-setting organization responsible for establishing and improving Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) in the United States, designated by the Securities and Exchange Commission as the authoritative body for setting accounting standards for U.S. public companies. It replaced the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' Accounting Principles Board on July 1, 1973, having been founded the previous year, and operates under the nonprofit Financial Accounting Foundation from Norwalk, Connecticut. The board is governed by seven full-time members serving five-year terms and supported by more than 60 staff, and its standards are accepted as authoritative by state boards of accountancy and the accounting profession generally.