Legal Aspect of the Business Accounting

Accountancy is the process of communicating financial information about a business entity to users such as shareholders and managers. The communication is generally in the form of financial statements that show in money terms the economic resources under the control of management; the art lies in selecting the information that is relevant to the user and is reliable.

The list below provides links to financial reporting related enforcement actions concerning civil lawsuits brought by the Commission in federal court and notices and orders concerning the institution and/or settlement of administrative proceedings. This list only highlights certain actions and is not meant to be a complete and exhaustive compilation of all of the actions that fall into this category.

The NYSSCPA has prepared a terminology glossary as an educational tool for journalists who report on and interpret financial information.

The SEC was established in 1934 by Congress to help ensure stability in the market and protect investors. The Securities Exchange Act was also established in 1934, both of which were used to protect investors and help keep the securities market ethical.

The mission of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting that foster financial reporting by nongovernmental entities that provides decision-useful information to investors and other users of financial reports.

The mission of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board is to establish and improve standards of state and local governmental accounting and financial reporting that will result in useful information for users of financial reports and guide and educate the public, including issuers, auditors, and users of those financial reports.

The IFRS Foundation is an independent, not-for-profit private sector organization working in the public interest to develop a single set of international financial reporting standards through its standard-setting body, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB) is a private-sector, nonprofit corporation created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 to oversee the auditors of companies in order to protect investors and the public interest by promoting informative, fair, and independent audit reports.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal agency responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy. Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and private decision-making. This handbook was published by the Bureau.

The Office of the Chief Accountant is responsible for establishing and enforcing accounting and auditing policy to enhance the transparency and relevancy of financial reporting, and for improving the professional performance of public company auditors in order to ensure that financial statements used for investment decisions are presented fairly and have credibility.

In the U.S., generally accepted accounting principles, commonly abbreviated as US GAAP or simply GAAP, are accounting rules used to prepare, present, and report financial statements for a wide variety of entities, including publicly-traded and privately-held companies, non-profit organizations, and governments. Generally GAAP includes local applicable Accounting Framework, related accounting law, rules and Accounting Standard.

A balance sheet is a snapshot of a business' financial condition at a specific moment in time, usually at the close of an accounting period. This site provides a definition and description of balance sheets in basic accounting.

Cash Flow forecasts help you to build a model of the way in which cash moves within a project or organization. They help you to predict whether the sales or income you forecast will cover the costs of operation. They also allow you to analyze whether a project will be sufficiently profitable to justify the effort put into it.

An explanation of the income statement, which is one of the major financial statements used by accountants and business owners.

This brochure is designed to help gain a basic understanding of how to read financial statements and its basic parts.

Information about Cash Flow Statements and the various regulatory requirements.

Article from Iowas State University about cash flow analysis.