As I sat at my desk today, reading through a packet of information on GASB 54 (a new requirement for reporting in governments), I came to a fateful realization. I will never master this craft. It won’t matter if I spend my entire life studying everything accounting, or I do as much hands on work as possible. It’s not because I have a horrible work ethic, or that I’m a moron (that could be debatable). It’s because whenever I will master one thing, the AICPA, GASB, and other boards will re-write the rules, and I will have to learn everything all over again. This, my fellow accountants, is what we are:
Now I know other professions have to struggle with the same thing. But at least with doctors, usually the changes enhance patient’s quality of life. What improvements does GASB 54 really make, and who reaps the benefit. It’s certainly not the practitioners, and it’s not our clients either. I guess Reuters is benefitting, as we all have get updated reference material. Don’t get me wrong, I understand improving accountability and oversight, as was the case with Sarbanes Oxley, but some of the GASB pronouncements are so silly that I have to wonder just how disconnected the people creating these pronouncements are. I imagine a GASB meeting going something like this.
Oh well, at least I’m employed, right?
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