PCAOB Publishes Staff Questions and Answers on References to Authoritative Accounting Guidance in PCAOB Standards

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board today published staff questions and answers about references to authoritative accounting guidance in PCAOB standards.

"I congratulate the Financial Accounting Standards Board on its efforts in developing the FASB Codification," said Martin F. Baumann, PCAOB Chief Auditor and Director of Professional Standards. "The staff questions and answers were developed to alert auditors that the FASB Codification now represents the single source of authoritative U.S. GAAP, and I encourage auditors to familiarize themselves with the Codification," said Baumann.

The series of questions and answers is a reminder that auditors should look to the FASB Codification and the rules of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for authoritative U.S. GAAP guidance for SEC registrants, even though PCAOB standards may contain descriptions of and references to U.S. GAAP.

The PCAOB publishes staff questions and answers to help auditors implement, and the Board’s staff administer, the Board’s standards. The statements contained in the staff questions and answers are not rules of the Board, nor have they been approved by the Board.