Accounting Principles Board
former authoritative body of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants
The Accounting Principles Board (APB) is the former authoritative body of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). It was created by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants in 1959 and issued pronouncements on accounting principles until 1973, when it was replaced by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).
The APB was disbanded in the hopes that the smaller, fully independent FASB could more effectively create accounting standards. The APB and the related Securities Exchange Commission were unable to operate completely independently of the U.S. government. According to the SEC, "the overall record of the APB was a reasonably good one, but it seems likely that a smaller full-time body directly in control of its research holds promise of more success". Among others, Abraham Briloff was critical of some actions of the Accounting Principles Board. In response to APB 17, Briloff referred to the APB as the "Accounting Pragmatics Board".
Of the 31 APB opinions and 4 statements, several were instrumental in improving the theory and practice of significant areas of accounting.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Accounting Principles Board” is former authoritative body of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Accounting, Principles and Board, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “former authoritative body of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 7, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4672770. VIAF identifies the subject as 133676081. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1959 and 1973.
Overview language is designed for orientation and should not be treated as a substitute for the evidence cited beneath it. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.
- Subject orientation
- Search vocabulary
- Locating named sources
The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Accounting Principles Board”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Accounting Principles Board primary sources, Accounting Principles Board archive and Accounting research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Accounting Principles Board”?
- Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
- What terminology or title could unlock a more precise catalogue search?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Accounting Principles Board” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.