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Accounting Principles
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There are general rules and concepts that govern the field of accounting. These general rules—referred to as basic accounting concepts and guidelines—form the groundwork on which a lot more detailed
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The phrase "generally accepted accounting principles" (or "GAAP") consists of three important sets of rules: (one) the basic accounting principles and guidelines, (2) the detailed rules and standards issued by FASB and its predecessor the Accounting Principles Board (APB), and (3) the generally accepted industry practices.
If a company distributes its financial statements to the public
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GAAP is exceedingly useful because it attempts to standardize and regulate accounting definitions, assumptions, and methods. Because of generally accepted accounting principles we are able to assume that there is consistency from year to year in the methods used to prepare a company's financial statements. And although variations may exist
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