Historical frame
- Kind
- innovation
- Period
- Released July 1, 2009; effective for periods ending after September 15, 2009
- Jurisdiction
- United States
The Codification organized accounting guidance by subject so accountants could research requirements in a common structure.
Questions to carry forward
- Why is a release date different from an effective date?
- Why must a researcher read the scope and related paragraphs after locating a topic?
Claim disciplineEvidence boundaries
- The release date and reporting-period effective date are different.
- The Codification did not create every accounting requirement anew; current conclusions require the applicable current text.
The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) released the Accounting Standards Codification on July 1, 2009. It became effective for financial statements for periods ending after September 15, 2009. The release date and the first periods to which a requirement applies are different facts.
The Codification organized existing nongovernmental US generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) into Topics, Subtopics, Sections, and paragraphs. A researcher could locate related requirements within one structure instead of starting with separate historical publications. Securities and Exchange Commission requirements also apply to companies within that agency's scope.
A search result is only a starting point. Read the scope, relevant definitions, related paragraphs, and effective-date provisions before applying the guidance to a company's facts.