Table of Contents
Preface xiii
Acknowledgments xv
Chapter 1 An Introduction to Applied Professional Research 1
What Is Research? 2
Research Questions 4
The Nature of Professional Research 7
Critical Thinking and Effective Communication 9
The Economic Consequences of Standard Setting 14
The Role of Research in the Accounting Firm 15
Remaining Current in Knowledge and Skills 27
International Complexities in Practice 29
Summary 29
Notes 30
Appendix: Abbreviations Commonly Used in Citations 31
Chapter 2 The Environment of U.S. Research—the SEC and the FASB 37
The Accounting Environment 37
SEC Accounting for Public Companies 38
American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) 47
U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP) 49
The Financial Accounting Standards Board, Advisory Boards, and the Emerging Issue Task Force 52
The Levels of U.S. GAAP and FASB
Accounting Standards Codification 61
Locating U.S. GAAP 65
The FASB Accounting Standards Codification Research System (the Codification) 65
Codification Access 66
Navigating the Codification 68
The Research Process 73
Email, Print, and Copy/Paste Functions 81
Summary 85
Notes 85
Chapter 3 The Environment of International Research 87
The International Accounting Environment 87
Other Regional and National Standard-Setting
Bodies and Organizations In fluencing IFRS 94
IASB Authorities 95
The IASB’s Conceptual Framework 101
IFRS Funding, Regulation, and Enforcement 103
International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Research 106
Summary 119
Notes 120
Chapter 4 Other Research Databases and Tools 121
Governmental Accounting Sources (FASAB and GASB) 121
Other Databases for Accounting Authorities 127
Researching Industries and Companies 131
Industry Research 133
Major Databases 135
Researching Corporate News 149
Research Tools 154
Research Strategies 156
Summary 157
Appendix 1: Checklist for Industry Research 158
Appendix 2: Checklist for Company Research 159
Appendix 3: Websites 160
Chapter 5 Tax Research for Compliance and Tax Planning 163
Tax Research Databases 164
The Internal Revenue Code 170
Treasury Regulations 172
Other Administrative Authorities 174
Judicial Sources 180
Original Jurisdiction Courts 183
Steps in Conducting Tax Research 185
The Tax Research Environment 196
Regulation of Tax Professionals 211
Summary 212
Notes 213
Appendix: Selected Tax Websites 213
Chapter 6 Assurance/Auditing Research 215
Introduction 215
Assurance Services 216
Consulting Services and Standards 217
Auditing Standard-Setting Environment 218
Auditing Standard-Setting Process 228
AICPA Code of Professional Conduct 231
Auditing Standards in the Public Sector 236
Compilation and Review Services 238
Role of Judgment in Accounting and Auditing 239
Economic Consequences 240
Summary 241
Notes 241
About the Authors 243
Index 247
