THE MISSION OF THE FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING STANDARDS BOARD

The mission of the FASB is to establish and improve standards of financial accounting and reporting for the guidance and education of public, including issuers, auditors, and users of financial information.
Our financial reporting system is essential to the efficient functioning of the economy, That is because it is the means by which investors, creditors, and others receive the credible, transparent, and comparable financial information they rely on to make sound investment and credit decisions. Accounting standards are an important element of the financial reporting system because they govern the minimum required content of financial statements of U.S. public companies.
To accomplish its mission, the FASB acts to:

• Improve the usefulness of financial reporting by focusing on the primary characteristics of relevance and reliability and on the qualities of comparability and consistency;
• Keep standards current to reflect changes in methods of doing business and changes in the economic environment;
• Consider promptly any significant areas of deficiency in financial reporting that might be addressed through the standard-setting process;
• Promote the international convergence of accounting standards concurrent with improving the quality of financial reporting; and
  
• Improve the common understanding of the nature and purpose of information contained in financial reports.

The FASB develops broad accounting concepts as well as standards for financial reporting. It also provides guidance on implementation of standards. Concepts are useful in guiding the Board in establishing standards and in providing a frame of reference, or conceptual framework, for resolving accounting issues. The framework will help to establish reasonable bounds for judgement in preparing financial information and to increase understanding of, and confidence in, financial information on the part of users of financial reports. It also will help the public to understand the nature and limitations of information supplied by financial reporting.
The Board's work on both concepts and standards is based on research aimed at gaining new insights and ideas. Research is conducted by the FASB staff and others, including foreign, national, and international accounting standard-setting bodies. The Board's activities are open to public participation and observation under the "due process" procedures established by the Board. The FASB actively solicits the views of its various constituencies on accounting issues.