Principles of Accounting

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In the modem world no business can afford to remain secretive because various parties such as creditors, employees, taxation authorities, investors, public and government etc., are interested to know about the affairs of the business. Affairs of the business can be studied mainly by consulting final accounts and the balance sheet of the particular business. Final accounts and the balance sheet are end products of book-keeping. Because of the importance of these statements it became necessary for the accountants to develop some principles, concepts and conventions which may be regarded as fundamentals of accounting. Such fundamentals having wide acceptance give reliability and creditability to the financial statements prepared by the accountants. The need for 'generally accepted accounting principles' arises for two reasons: First, to be logical and consistent in recording the transactions and second, to conform to, the established practices and procedures.

There is no agreement among the accountants as regards the basic concepts of accounting. There is no uniformity in generally accepted accounting principles (GAPP). The terms-axioms, assumptions, conventions, concepts, generalizations, methods, rules, doctrines, techniques, postulates, standards and canons are used freely and inconsistently in the same sense.

Principles

"A general law or rule, adopted or professed as a guide to action, a settled ground or basis of conduct or practice." This definition given by dictionaries comes nearest to describing what most accountants mean by the word 'Principle'. Care should be taken to make it clear that as applied to accounting practice, the world principle, does not connote a rule for which there can be no deviation. An accounting principle is not a principle in the sense that it admits of no conflict with other principles.

Postulates

Mean to assume without proof, to take for granted or positive consent, a position assumed as self- evident. Postulates are assumptions but they are not arbitrary deliberate assumptions but generally recognized assumptions which reflect the judgment of 'facts' or trend or events, assumptions which have been borne out in past by facts supposed by legal institutions making them enforceable to some extent.

Doctrines

Mean principles of belief: what the scriptures teach on any subject. It refer to an established principle propagated by a teacher which is followed in strict faith. But in accounting practice, no such doctrine need be adhered to but the word denotes the general principles or policies to be followed.

Axiom

Denotes a statement of truth which cannot be questioned by anyone.

Standards

Refer to the basis expected in accounting practice, under different circumstances. In Indian context, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) constituted an Accounting Standards Board on 21st April, 1977. The main function of ASB is to formulate accounting standards taking into consideration the applicable laws, customs, usages and business environment.

Assumptions

Certain fundamental accounting assumptions underlie the preparation and presentation of financial statements. There are namely, (a) Going concern, (b) Consistency and (c) Accrual. They are usually not specifically stated because their acceptance and use are assumed.

Conventions

The term convention means "established usage'. Conventions are based on practicability and usage. For example, the relationship of 12 units forming a dozen is a convention.

Concept

Denotes logical consideration and a notion which is generally and widely accepted. The term is not used in the sense of a set of hard and fast rules but rather of rules of general application which provide guide in selection of accounting methods appropriate in particular circumstances.