Generally Accept Accounting Principles
The term "generally accepted accounting principles" has a specific meaning for accountants and auditors. The AICPA Code of Professional Conduct prohibits members from expressing an opinion or stating affirmatively that financial statements or other financial data "present fairly... in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles," if such information contains any departures from accounting principles promulgated by a body designated by the AICPA Council to establish such principles.
The AICPA Council designated FASAB as the body that establishes accounting principles for federal entities. The AICPA's hierarchy of generally accepted accounting principles in Statement of Auditing Standards (SAS) No. 91, The Federal GAAP Hierarchy, governs what constitutes GAAP for U.S. government reporting entities. The hierarchy lists the priority sequence of sources that an entity should look to for accounting and reporting guidance.
For financial statements of federal governmental entities, the GAAP hierarchy is:
Category (a), officially established accounting principles, consists of Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) Statements and Interpretations, as well as AICPA and FASB pronouncements specifically made applicable to federal governmental entities by FASAB Statements or Interpretations. FASAB Statements and Interpretations will be periodically incorporated in a publication by the FASAB.
Category (b) consists of FASAB Technical Bulletins and, if specifically made applicable to federal governmental entities by the AICPA and cleared by the FASAB, AICPA Industry Audit and Accounting Guides and AICPA Statements of Position.
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Category (c) consists of AICPA AcSEC Practice Bulletins if specifically made applicable to federal governmental entities and cleared by the FASAB, as well as Technical Releases of the Accounting and Auditing Policy Committee of the FASAB.
Category (d) includes implementation guides published by the FASAB staff, as well as practices that are widely recognized and prevalent in the federal government.
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Corporate Accounting 
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