Proposed Conceptual Changes in Financial Reporting

The Problem of Competing Frameworks and Disclosure Overload

Robert A. Dyson, CPA

A growing chorus comprising mainly small and medium-sized entities (SME) has asserted that the excessive volume and complexity of current accounting standards—that is, “standards overload”—has created difficulties for financial statement preparers, auditors, and users. But such concerns are not new. “Accounting Standards Overload: Relief Is Needed” was published more than 30 years ago in the Journal of Accountancy, winning its 1982 Lawler Award (Gerald W. Hepp and Thomas W. McRae, May 1982). More recently, the 2001 Annual Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council Survey cited standards overload as a continuing problem. The February 28, 2002, edition of the FASB Report, published by the board, reported that a similar problem—disclosure overload—was causing confusion among financial statement users.