The Financial Accounting Standards Board is a board of seven independent accounting professionals created in 1973. This seven-member group is responsible for communicating current standards for financial accounting and reporting that requires post in the United States. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) are the standards used by the FASB to govern how companies prepare their financial reports. This process of using these standards to maintain and report accounting files is the only method that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will accept. Members include; Michael Crooch, CPA, George Batavick, CPA, Edward Trott, CPA, Leslie Seidman, CPA, Donald Young, CFA, Robert Herz, CPA, and Thomas Linsmeier, CPA. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission was created in 1934 at the same time in which the Securities Exchange Act was passed. The law was “designed to restore investor confidence in our capital markets by providing investors and markets with more reliable information and clear rules for honest trading.” (U.S. SEC website) There are five Commissioners appointed by the President to five-year terms, and each member's term is staggered from the other. “One of them is designated by the President as chair of the Commission – the CEO of the agency. By law, no more than three commissioners can belong to the same political party, ensuring impartiality. The agency's functional responsibilities are organized into four Divisions and 18 Offices, each of which is headquartered in Washington......center of the charter......own set of rules and regulations; SEC, PCAOB, General Accounting Office, State Accounting Office, and The American Institute of Certified Public Accounts. It could be the acts of not only accounts but also auditors, board members and investors that create a fraudulent environment for a company. Accountants must remain active and alert to the constant changes within these groups to serve the public with dignity and maintain their trust. Reference:Flesher, F. Luca Pacioli-The Father of Accounting. Retrieved March 30, 2008, from http://members.tripod.com/~FlynF/pacioli.htm#Biblio Retrieved March 29, 2008, from www.pcaobus.org Retrieved March 31, 2008, from http://www.sec.gov /about/whatwedo.shtml Retrieved March 29, 2008 at https://api.turnitin.com