The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) announced that it will provide free, enhanced online access to  the complete and official version of the Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (GAAP) published by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and by the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB).

The complete version of the FASB GAAP standards is known as the Accounting Standards Codification, and the compete version of the GASB GAAP standards is known as the Governmental Accounting Research System (GARS).

Free versions of both standards  have been available online for years, but the new system will provide enhanced features, compared to “Basic View,” the current free offering. These features include enhancements to navigation, search, printing, copy/paste, and the ability to provide feedback.

While the the FAF has not yet determined the firm date for this change to online access to the accounting standards, it is expected to occur sometime in the spring.

The FAF said that it was making the enhanced version of these standards freely available “in an effort to make financial accounting standards even more widely accessible to stakeholders and the public."

The "Professional View" paid subscription service will be eliminated, and previous users of it will be able to use the enhanced free versions of the codification and the GARS. Current subscribers to "Professional View" will be transitioned off the current system. Pro-rated refunds will be issued for those subscribers whose paid terms extend beyond the cutover date.

“We believe this move, which is consistent with a recent recommendation from the Investor Advisory Committee of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will increase our stakeholders’ access to these important resources, and thereby improve the understanding and implementation of financial accounting standards in the United States,” said FAF Executive Director John Auchincloss.