Accounting Research Guide

Accounting is the "systematic development and analysis of information about the economic affairs of an organization." (Britannica) This guide is designed to help students find appropriate resources for the study of accounting at UST, including subscription databases, reference books, and relevant web sites.

Databases

RIA Checkpoint
Accounting standards research materials, including primary source documents from FASB (Original Pronouncements, Current Text) and AICPA (Professional Standards, Audit & Accounting Guides, Technical Practice Aids), and secondary source handbooks and manuals.

LEXIS-NEXIS Business
Retrieve general business news, company and industry profiles, financial statements and ratios, SEC filings, and more. Accounting Literature section allows searching of specialized journals, handbooks, and regulatory information.

To search the scholarly literature for Accounting-related content, see our Business: Articles & Books database page. To find company or industry financial statements and data, see our Financial Analysis Tools and Finding Business Ratios guides.

Reference Books (available in print at OSF & Keffer Libraries)

 
FASB Accounting Standards: Original Pronouncements
Official authoritative standards of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, listed in the order of promulgation. Note: the FASB & AICPA authoritative standards are also available from the RIA Checkpoint online database, linked above.

FASB Current Text
Codified version of Financial Accounting Standards Boards pronouncements, organized by topic and by industry

AICPA Professional Standards
Authoritative literature of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, including the Code of Professional Conduct and the Statements of U.S. Auditing Standards.

Accounting Trends And Techniques
Published annually by the AICPA, this volume provides recent examples of text used in financial statement disclosures of standard and circumstantial accounting practices, organized by financial statement and topic.

The Ultimate Accountant's Reference
/by Steven M. Bragg. Basic principles of accounting rules and regulations, with detailed treatments of each major financial statement and required disclosures.

International Financial Reporting Standards Desk Reference
/by Roger Hussey and Audra Ong. Content of the international standards and commentary on their role and use in the international arena.

Introduction To Online Accounting & Financial Research
/Susan M. Klopper. Provides search strategies and suggested sources of all kinds of accounting research problems.

Web Sites

Financial Accounting Standards Board
The designated private sector organization in the United States that establishes official financial accounting and reporting standards. Site includes professional news, authoritative standards releases, publications, etc.

American Institute Of Certified Public Accountants
The AICPA is the national professional association for CPAs in the United States. It promulgates the profession's code of professional conduct and is the authoritative body that issues national standards for the conduct of audits.

Governmental Accounting Standards Board
GASB is the official body responsible for promulgating authoritative accounting standards for state and local governments in the United States.

International Accounting Standards Board
The IASB is an international organization that "...is committed to developing, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, understandable and enforceable global accounting standards that require transparent and comparable information in general purpose financial statements."

Rutgers Accounting Web: Accounting Resources On The Internet
A nice portal providing links to many key professional accounting sites.

Ten Steps to Accounting Research
Step-by-step tutorial on how to research accounting issues, by Peter Z. McKay, business librarian at the University of Florida. 

Research consultations

Professional reference service is available at both the St. Paul and Minneapolis campus libraries. If you are interested in a research consultation, contact:

Ryan Carter, Minneapolis, (651) 962-4646, ryan.carter@stthomas.edu
Marianne Hageman, St. Paul, (651) 962-5404, mdhageman@stthomas.edu
Eric Kallas, St. Paul, (651) 962-5013, epkallas@stthomas.edu
Andrea Koeppe, Minneapolis, (651) 962-4647, arhudson@stthomas.edu
Janice Kragness, Minneapolis, (651) 962-4645, jlkragness@stthomas.edu