FASB Codification Guide-2 - FASB LEARNING GUIDE For the...

FASB L
EARNING
G
UIDE
For the Codification Research System
Professional View
March 1, 2012
Financial Accounting Standards Board
of the Financial Accounting Foundation

Acknowledgements
Bruce Pounder, CMA, CFM, DipIFR (ACCA), was the lead contributor for the Lessons included in the FASB
Learning Guide For the Codification Research System. Special thanks to Karen Guasp of the FASB, Mary Nassef
of the FAF, and numerous other FASB and FAF staff members for their editorial contributions.
Copyright © 2012 by Financial Accounting Foundation, Norwalk, Connecticut. All rights reserved.
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Table of Contents i
Table of Contents
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Getting the Most Out of This Guide ................................................................ v-vi
PART I: Core Skills
Lesson 1: Getting Started with the Codification ........................................... 1-10
Recognizing When to Consult the System ............................................................. 1
Logging In .............................................................................................................. 3
How the Codification Content is Organized .......................................................... 5
How to Navigate through the Codification Content .............................................. 6
How to Find Relevant Guidance by Systematically Browsing the
Codification Content ............................................................................................ 7
Logging Out ......................................................................................................... 8
Lesson 2: Navigating the Codification ......................................................... 11-21
Identifying Relevant Areas .................................................................................. 12
Identifying Relevant Topics ................................................................................. 12
Identifying Relevant Subtopics ............................................................................ 16
Assembling All Sections within a Subtopic ......................................................... 18
Lesson 3: Working with Section-Level Content .......................................... 22-34
Identifying Relevant Sections .............................................................................. 23
Finding and Distinguishing between FASB Guidance and SEC Guidance ......... 26
Systematically Browsing Content within Sections .............................................. 28
How Content Is Organized within Each Section ................................................. 29
FASB versus SEC Content within Sections ........................................................ 30
System Features Available Only at Individual Section Pages ............................. 30

Table of Contents ii
Lesson 4: Understanding the Scope of Guidance ........................................ 35-43
Recognizing Where Scope Information is Located ............................................. 36
Navigating among Sections within a Subtopic .................................................... 37