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What was the Blue Ribbon Panel on Private Company Financial Reporting?

The AICPA and the Financial Accounting Foundation, the oversight body of FASB and GASB, along with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy formed the panel in 2010. The panel's mission was to provide recommendations on the future of standard setting for private companies. AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, served on the panel.

Why is a separate board critical to having private company accounting standards?

Years of studies and research, a joint advisory committee with FASB, private company constituent representation on the FASB board and comment letters have not produced meaningful results. It's imperative that there be a standard-setting body made up of private-company oriented people who would set the necessary differences in the standards for private companies. The new standard-setting structure and process would be reviewed after three to five years to determine if it is working effectively and efficiently, as recommended by the panel.

Why not develop private company reporting standards from scratch rather than base them on GAAP?

The struggles of private companies to implement standards that too often are irrelevant, costly and driven by public company issues have reached an unacceptably burdensome Level-Creating a new body of private company GAAP from scratch would...