An independent, private-sector board composed of accounting professionals. The FASB's standards are the source of authoritative non-governmental US generally accepted accounting principles (US GAAP). Since 2009, the authoritative source document for US GAAP has been the FASB's Accounting Standards Codification (ASC). Before the 2009 adoption of the ASC, the authoritative source of GAAP was a variety of publications carrying different relative authority, known collectively as the GAAP hierarchy.

For more information on the law and regulation governing accounting, auditing and financial reporting in the US, see Practice Note, Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting in the US: Governing Authorities and Financial Statements, Financial Reporting and Auditing Toolkit.