Accounting Research Bulletins (ARB)

Accounting Research Bulletins (ARB) were documents published by the Committee on Accounting Procedure between 1938 to 1959 on various accounting problems.

The Committee on Accounting Procedure was the first private sector organization tasked with setting accounting standards in the United States. But its Accounting Research Bulletins (ARB) were never binding. It was run by the American Institute of Accountants, now known as the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Today, accounting standards in the United States are set by the Government Accounting Standards Board (GASB), a private non-governmental organization that creates accounting reporting standards, or generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for state and local governments. They can be found in the Accounting Standards Codification, which became effective after September 2009, and which is the single source of U.S. GAAP and is maintained by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

FASB Accounting Standards Codification governs the preparation of corporate financial reports and is recognized as authoritative by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which regulates American stock exchanges.