The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a domestic, not-for-profit organization based in Connecticut. For more than 40 years, the FASB has helped set reporting standards within the accounting trade. Visit the FASB website and read https://www.fasb.org/jsp/FASB/Page/SectionPage&cid=1176154526495 to learn more about its history. One of the FASB’s major contributions to the accounting profession is the FASB Codification. Codification content is organized by subject matter in a hierarchy. Think of it as an outline structure that you can drill into to get information regarding your specific topic of interest. Codification’s hierarchy begins with the following four highest levels:
Area.
Topic.
Subtopic.
Section.
As you research, you will drill down in the hierarchy, beginning with the Area of interest, then picking the Topic within the area, then the Subtopic, then the Section. Areas, Topics, and Subtopics are simply landing pages that contain tables of contents. Sections are the only pages that have codification content. For example, if you wanted to research costing inventory, you would drill down by clicking on the following: Assets > 330 Inventory > 10 Overall > 30 Initial Measurement > General > 30-1 Cost Basis. You would then see the detailed codification specific to costing inventory. Although there are literally thousands of sections within the hundreds of subtopics, once you practice and get used to moving around in the codification, it is easy to research your accounting topics. You may find yourself utilizing it not only for class research but also for topics you are working on in your professional life and topics that you may simply find interesting. The codification is organized within the following nine areas:
General Principles.
Presentation.
Assets.
Liabilities.
Equity.
Revenue.
Expenses.
Broad Transactions.
Industry.