Description

This course offers a practical overview of the FASB’s Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting, giving CPAs a solid grasp of the concepts that guide U.S. GAAP. It covers the purpose of financial reporting, the reporting entity, and the key qualities of useful information. The course also reviews the elements of financial statements, recognition and derecognition criteria, measurement concepts, presentation principles, and the role of notes. Designed for professionals who want lasting, big-picture understanding, this course helps strengthen accounting decisions in a changing standards environment.

Chapter 1: Foundations of Financial Reporting – Overview
This chapter explains the purpose of financial reporting and how it supports decisions by investors, lenders, and other resource providers. It covers what financial statements aim to communicate and the concept of the reporting entity, including how boundaries are defined. It also outlines the key qualitative characteristics that make financial information useful, such as relevance, faithful representation, comparability, and understandability, while highlighting the trade-offs and cost-benefit considerations involved in financial reporting.

Chapter 2: Elements, Recognition, and Measurement – Overview
This chapter reviews the core elements of financial statements—assets, liabilities, equity, revenues, expenses, gains, and losses—and how they relate to each other. It explains how items are recognized and derecognized, how measurement methods assign values, and how presentation helps organize information clearly. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the notes to the financial statements and the important context they provide.