Date of Award
1986
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Business Administration
Department
Business
First Advisor
Jack Kirk
Second Advisor
Sandra Harris
Abstract
Christine Slaughter’s 1986 thesis explores the challenges small and medium-sized businesses face when adhering to Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP). The study emphasizes how certain accounting standards, while designed for broad applicability, often impose unnecessary burdens on smaller enterprises due to their complexity and cost. Slaughter examines the efforts of key organizations, including the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), to address this issue. Her literature review highlights the concept of “accounting standards overload,” where traditional GAAP requirements may not be cost-effective or relevant for smaller entities. The thesis analyzes debates surrounding “Big GAAP vs. Little GAAP,” reflecting differing opinions on whether small businesses should follow simplified standards.
Slaughter supplements her research with a local survey of lending institutions in the St. Louis area, revealing that bank officers placed the least reliance on the Statement of Changes in Financial Position when evaluating small business loan applications. She concludes that omitting this statement could be a practical revision to benefit smaller firms. Although her proposal to the FASB for change was ultimately not adopted, her findings contribute to ongoing conversations about making financial reporting more proportionate and relevant for nonpublic companies and small business environments.
Recommended Citation
Slaughter, Christine, "Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Small Business" (1986). Theses. 1331.
https://digitalcommons.lindenwood.edu/theses/1331
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
Comments
Some pages were removed due to privacy concerns.