On The Credibility Of GAAP: Do Preparers, Auditors, And Users See Eye To Eye?

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to apply social-psychological research methods to address an issue in the development of general accepted accounting principles (GAAP). Of concern to the Financial Accounting Standard Board (FASB) in the development of GAAP is the attitudes of its constituent groups with respect to the credibility of GAAP. Our main objective was to assess any differences in the credibility perception of GAAP, as indicated by the three main groups of FASB constituents: corporate preparers of financial statements (preparers), CPAs who audit financial reports to ensure their adherence to GAAP (auditors), and accountants who us financial reports to make lending and investment decisions (users). The results indicated that auditors perception of the credibility of GAAP along eight credibility dimensions was significantly different than that of preparers and users of financial reporting. These results are important to the standard setting process because they indicate a lack of consensus among the three main FASB constituent groups, and may indicate an elevation of auditor views over those of users and preparers. Some implications of these results and suggestions for future research are discussed.