An Analysis of the FASB's Dissenting Opinions and the Conceptual Framework

Abstract

In this paper we report the results of a content analysis of dissenting opinions found in Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards. During 1973 to 2009 the FASB issued 171 financial accounting standards. Half of these standards contained dissenting opinions. We identify and classify dissenting opinions based on whether the arguments are conceptual (conceptual-framework related and non-framework related) or non-conceptual (e.g., scope, due process). We examine whether the types and frequencies of arguments change over time in response to the development of the FASB’s conceptual framework. We also examine the arguments used in terms of the FASB’s recently released Statement of Financial Accounting Concepts No. 8 and the American Accounting Association’s Financial Accounting Committee’s criteria for quality of accounting standards (AAA 1998). The results document the use of framework concepts and have implications for future revisions of the conceptual framework.

Keywords: FASB, Due Process, Dissenting Opinions, Content Analysis, Conceptual Framework

JEL Classification: M41