An accounting research memo explains how facts and applicable guidance support a reporting conclusion. A reviewer should be able to check the reasoning and identify which changed fact could change the answer.
Give each section a clear job
- The issue identifies the company, transaction, period, and question.
- The facts distinguish documented evidence from assertions and assumptions.
- The guidance identifies applicable requirements and exact source references.
- The analysis applies those requirements to the facts and addresses a credible alternative.
- The conclusion answers the question and explains the accounting effects.
- The remaining work identifies missing evidence, responsibilities, and needed approvals.
For example, "research the credit" is incomplete. A more useful question asks whether a specified supplier credit changes an equipment purchase price or belongs to another transaction in the December statements.
If the agreement is missing, say what cannot yet be concluded and request it. Do not turn an assumption into a fact to finish the memo. Quoting a requirement without applying it also leaves the reasoning unfinished.
A short memo may be sufficient for a narrow question. Length should reflect the evidence and analysis needed, not a fixed number of pages.
Put the concept to work
Understand this concept
Create this concept
- Write a concise, reviewable memo that applies exact authority to established facts, separates assumptions and open items, addresses a plausible alternative, and states accounting consequences.
Learning resources
Choose a lesson, try an application, or inspect the sources behind this concept.
Build on these ideas
- Authoritative accounting guidance — Understand
To understand this concept: Required. A technical memo must distinguish governing criteria from explanatory material.
- FASB Accounting Standards Codification — Apply
To create this concept: Required. The memo requires a reproducible path to applicable authoritative guidance.
- Professional judgment — Analyze
To create this concept: Required. A reviewable conclusion must expose evidence, alternatives, incentives, uncertainty, and change conditions.