Irreconcilable Differences? The FASB's Conceptual Framework and the Public Interest

Abstract

It has been shown that protecting and serving the public interest in public accounting is a myth. It has also recently been demonstrated that protecting and serving the public interest by the Securities and Exchange Commission is not the primary, or even secondary, mission of the SEC. Finally, it has been proven that is not the mission of the FASB to serve the public interest. Recently, the FASB has revised its “Conceptual Framework.” The FASB’s Conceptual Framework is “intended to serve the public interest by providing structure and direction to financial accounting and reporting to facilitate the provision of unbiased financial and related information [which] helps capital and other markets to function efficiently in allocating scarce resources in the economy and society” (emphasis added) However, since it is not the mission of either the FAF (Financial Accounting Foundation, the parent of the FASB), or the FASB to serve the public interest, whether the FASB’s Conceptual Framework can serve the public interest as intended, or whether the Conceptual Framework is incompatible with the public interest is questionable. This paper explores the question of whether the Conceptual Framework is compatible with the public interest. The question is important to consider because if the Conceptual Framework cannot serve the public interest as intended, then it may be necessary to revise the Conceptual Framework in order to achieve its intended purpose of serving the public interest. This is the working paper version.