Mastering US GAAP: A Guide to Financial Reporting Standards

Mastering US GAAP: A Guide to Financial Reporting Standards provides participants with a structured and accessible overview of the US GAAP framework, including how standards are developed, updated, and applied within organizations.

This session offers a step-by-step look at how GAAP shapes financial statements and what these rules mean for professionals who rely on financial reporting to make decisions.

The training starts by explaining the structure and governance of US GAAP-who sets the standards, how updates occur, and why these rules matter. Participants will learn about the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), Accounting Standards Codification (ASC), and the role regulators and auditors play in enforcing GAAP compliance.

We then break down major GAAP categories, such as revenue recognition, expense matching, measurement concepts, financial statement presentation, and disclosure requirements. Each section includes practical examples to help participants see how GAAP applies to real-world scenarios. This includes reviewing common accounting challenges such as subscription revenue, valuation of intangible assets, lease accounting, contingencies, and expense allocation.

Participants will also explore the three primary financial statements in the context of GAAP standards. We will examine how GAAP influences the structure of the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement-and how accounting decisions affect the final numbers. For example, attendees will learn how different revenue recognition models can change short-term profitability or how depreciation methods affect long-term asset values.

Finally, the session covers practical strategies for staying organized, prioritizing what matters, and leveraging tools that streamline communication and documentation. You’ll walk away with actionable steps to strengthen leadership capability across your organization, reduce emotional overload, and build teams that can disagree respectfully while staying united in purpose.

Why should you Attend: Financial reporting can feel overwhelming if you don’t fully understand the rules behind it. GAAP is highly detailed, frequently updated, and filled with terminology that can seem confusing to anyone without an accounting background. Even experienced professionals may struggle to interpret financial data correctly if they are not familiar with the standards governing how that data is produced.

Have you ever read a financial statement and wondered whether the numbers reflect actual performance-or if accounting choices shaped the outcome? Are you responsible for oversight, due diligence, partner reviews, audits, or strategic decisions but unsure how GAAP influences the information you’re analyzing? These uncertainties can lead to hesitation, missed red flags, and flawed assumptions.

GAAP affects every part of financial reporting-from when revenue can be recognized, to how long assets can be depreciated, to what companies must disclose about risk, income, debt, and performance. Misunderstanding even one principle can lead to misinterpretation of financial health, compliance gaps, or inaccurate risk assessments.

Professionals in compliance, risk management, fintech, and financial services increasingly encounter situations where reading and understanding financial reports is essential. Without clarity on how GAAP sets the rules, interpreting those reports becomes guesswork.

Areas Covered in the Session:

• Overview of GAAP, FASB, and the Accounting Standards Codification
• The structure and purpose of US GAAP
• Key concepts: relevance, reliability, comparability, consistency, conservatism
• Revenue recognition standards (ASC 606)
• Expense recognition and the matching principle
• Measurement concepts and valuation methods
• Understanding GAAP-required disclosures
• How GAAP shapes income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements
• Practical fintech- and financial institution-relevant examples
• Recent and emerging GAAP updates

• Compliance Professionals
• Risk Managers
• Financial Crime and AML Professionals
• Operations Managers
• Product Managers
• Internal Auditors
• Fintech Partner Managers
• Vendor Management Teams
• Analysts and Business Strategists
• Anyone who Reviews or Relies on Financial Data