Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board
Article I, Section 9 of the Constitution of the United States provides that “No Money shall be drawn from the Treasury, but in Consequence of Appropriations made by Law; and a regular Statement and Account of the Receipts and Expenditures of all public Money shall be published from time to time.” Various laws have subsequently provided additional accounting and reporting requirements suitable for the needs of each era, and have vested various public officials with responsibilities for financial management.
The Chief Financial Officers Act of 1990—as amended by the Government Management Reform Act of 1994—for the first time required annual, audited financial statements for the United States Government and its component entities, referred to as federal reporting entities. The Act also established the position of Chief Financial Officer in each department to ensure the development of integrated agency accounting and financial management systems, including financial reporting and internal controls, which comply with applicable accounting principles, standards, and requirements, and internal control standards.
In conjunction with passage of the CFO Act of 1990, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), and the Comptroller General established FASAB to develop the “applicable accounting principles” for the newly required financial statements. The Board’s Steering Committee, comprised of the Chairperson and the Board members from Treasury, OMB, and GAO, is responsible for administrative matters. Both Board and Steering Committee meetings are open to the public, with notice of meeting times and locations being published in the Federal Register and on the FASAB’s Web site at
http://www.fasab.gov.