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FASB to Practitioners: ‘Substance Over Form’ for Me but Not for Thee – An Apologia

Author

Listed:
  • Fischer Dov

    (Brooklyn College, Brooklyn, 11210-2889, NY, USA)

Abstract

This an apologia to Williams, P. F. (2022). The decline of substance over form in accounting: A problematic dichotomy. Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium critique of Fischer, D., Ellman, O., & Schochet, S. (2021). The decline of substance over form in accounting. Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, 20190052 article about the decline of substance over form in accounting. The concept of “substance over form” has traditionally been a guiding principle for practicing accountants. In recent years, FASB has taken away the prerogative from individual practitioners to organically evolved GAAP. In the pre-FASB era, GAAP was indeed a bottom-up generally-accepted framework. Nowadays, FASB appropriates to itself the privilege to decide when form conforms with economic substance and when form should be bent to correspond to accounting theory.

Suggested Citation

  • Fischer Dov, 2023. "FASB to Practitioners: ‘Substance Over Form’ for Me but Not for Thee – An Apologia," Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, De Gruyter, vol. 13(3), pages 403-406, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:bpj:aelcon:v:13:y:2023:i:3:p:403-406:n:6
    DOI: 10.1515/ael-2022-0046
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    substance over form; GAAP; FASB;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • M41 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Accounting
    • M42 - Business Administration and Business Economics; Marketing; Accounting; Personnel Economics - - Accounting - - - Auditing

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