What is principles of accounting?

Three meanings come to mind when you ask about principles of accounting…

1. Principles of Accounting was often the title of the introductory course in accounting. It was also common for the textbook used in the course to be entitled Principles of Acccounting.

2. Principles of accounting can also refer to the basic or fundamental accounting principles: cost, matching, full disclosure, materiality, going concern, economic entity, and so on. In this context, principles of accounting refers to the broad underlying concepts which guide accountants when preparing financial statements.

3. Principles of accounting can also mean generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). When used in this context, principles of accounting will include both the underlying basic accounting principles and the official accounting pronouncements issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and its predecessor organizations. The official pronouncements are detailed rules or standards for specific topics.

Learn more about Accounting Principles.