Historical frame
- Kind
- event
- Period
- Bulletin program began in 1939
- Jurisdiction
- United States
The bulletins addressed differences in accounting practice before the later standard-setting boards were established.
Questions to carry forward
- What can guidance on a specific reporting problem clarify?
- What questions remain when guidance develops one issue at a time?
Claim disciplineEvidence boundaries
- The committee existed before its 1939 bulletin program; 1939 is not treated here as its first formation date.
- The committee did not replace the Securities and Exchange Commission's legal authority.
The Committee on Accounting Procedure (CAP) issued Accounting Research Bulletins beginning in 1939. It worked within the American Institute of Accountants, a predecessor of today's American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The institute had expanded the committee's responsibilities in 1938; the reorganized committee met in January 1939.
The committee addressed particular reporting problems as they arose. That approach could give accountants guidance on an immediate question without first settling a complete theory of accounting. The Accounting Principles Board replaced it in 1959. For current accounting, use the applicable Codification guidance rather than treating an old bulletin as the current rule.