Description
This course provides an overview of key U.S. GAAP accounting principles and SEC reporting requirements, focusing on topics that are important for financial reporting professionals. Participants will explore the presentation of financial statements, including the balance sheet, income statement, cash flow, discontinued operations, segment reporting, as well as Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs), accounting estimates, accounting principle changes, and error corrections. Key U.S. GAAP areas such as revenue recognition, leasing, business combinations, goodwill, software (both internal use and resale), held-for-sale assets, loss contingencies, guarantees, derivatives, hedge accounting, blockchain, and crypto assets will be covered. This course also addresses important SEC Regulations, Form 8-K & Form 10-K requirements, as well as best practices related to MD&A and non-GAAP financial measures.
Chapter 1: Financial Statement Presentation – Overview
This chapter covers key financial statement presentation requirements. This includes a discussion of the balance sheet, income statement, and perhaps most importantly, the statement of cash flows. This includes a discussion of the method of presentation as well as the classification of various cash inflows and cash outflows.
Chapter 2: Understanding Accounting Standards Updates (ASUs) – Overview
This chapter provides an overview of the processes involved in understanding, evaluating, and properly disclosing Accounting Standard Updates (ASUs) issued by the FASB. This includes a look at the key elements included within each ASU, how companies should consider the impacts from the change, as well as how to properly disclose these impacts (if known) within their notes to their financial statements. This chapter also outlines an effective five-step process for monitoring ASUs, from initial release to adoption.
Chapter 3: Use of Accounting Estimates – Overview
This chapter provides an overview of the role of accounting estimates within U.S. GAAP. It addresses some of the key areas where estimates are required, such as fair value measurements, impairment assessments, and contingent liabilities, and emphasizes their significance in financial reporting. The chapter also explores the inherent risks and challenges of using estimates, including the potential for bias and abuse.
Chapter 4: Accounting Principle Changes – Overview
This chapter provides an overview of the accounting requirements with respect to accounting principle changes. The scope of accounting changes includes a discussion of changes in accounting principles, changes in accounting estimates, as well as changes of a reporting entity.
Chapter 5: Accounting Error Corrections – Overview
This chapter provides an overview of the accounting and reporting requirements with respect to the correction of errors in previously issued financial statements. This includes a discussion of restatement requirements as well as potential internal control considerations.
Chapter 6: Revenue Recognition – Overview
This chapter provides an overview of the revenue recognition standards prescribed by ASC Topic 606. This chapter focuses specifically on the five-step model for revenue recognition including identifying a contract, identifying performance obligation, determining the transaction price, allocating the transaction price to performance obligations, and recognizing revenue.
Chapter 7: Leasing Transactions – Overview
This chapter provides an overview of the current lease accounting standard within ASC Topic 842. This includes a discussion of how to identify a lease within a contract, and the overall recognition, measurement, subsequent measurement, and disclosure requirements.
Chapter 8: Business Combination Transactions – Overview
This chapter provides an overview of the accounting and reporting requirements with respect to business combinations as prescribed by ASC Topic 805. The overall objective of the guidance included within ASC 805 is to improve the relevance, representational faithfulness, and comparability of the information that a reporting entity provides in its financial reports about a business combination and its effects.
NOTE: The complete course is based on 24 chapters and in 3 parts:
- Chapter 1 to 8: Breaking Down Key U.S. GAAP Standards and SEC Filing Requirements – Part 1 (Text Based Course)
- Chapter 9 to 16: Breaking Down Key U.S. GAAP Standards and SEC Filing Requirements – Part 2 (Text Based Course)
- Chapter 17 to 24: Breaking-down-key-us-gaap-standards-sec-filing-requirements-part-3-text-based-course)
