What does GAAP stand for?
Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, baby.

Who’s in charge of GAAP in the United States?
The Financial Accounting Standards Board.

What is GAAP, basically?

1. A series of standards for recording financial information.
2. The best way to ensure that your organization maintains consistent, reliable, accurate and transparent financials.
3. What auditors will check to make sure you are complying with.
4. A way of life.

What is an example of GAAP?
Revenue recognition is an important element of GAAP. It’s the principle that revenue should be recognized, or booked, when it is earned rather than when it is received, which is why (for example) we use accounts receivable to record income before the money actually gets to our bank.

Can I get a copy of GAAP?
Yes, if you’re willing to pay $145 for a book that’s almost fifteen hundred pages long.

Okay, but where can I get some more specific, professional-type information on GAAP?
Try Investopedia, Wikipedia, and the Accounting Foundation.

How often do you find yourself saying “Mind the GAAP!”?
It happens.