Financial Accounting Research System (FARS)

The Financial Accounting Research System is a CD ROM product located in Haggard 2 Reference HF5661 .W35 2003. This CD is a component of the book entitled Mastery of the Financial Accounting Research System (FARS) through cases written by Wanda A. Wallace.

This CD ROM contains the latest Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) standards.  The electronic version allows for easy searching across all the standards at once.

How to use the CD Rom

Take the CD to one of the CD viewing stations located on Haggard 2.  Ask a Librarian for assistance if required.

Insert the CD into "Drive D" of the machine. Click on "my computer" and select "Drive D".   It should automatically load and open.  Be patient while the program loads.

Contents on the CD ROM

The CD also contains a reference guide which explains how to use the system. 

Sample of the Infobases

Opening an Infobase

You can open an infobase in several ways:

a) Click on your choice of infobases.  This will display the table of contents for that item.  The title bar at the top will tell you what infobase you are in.

I clicked on "Original Pronouncements".  This is a list of the table of contents.



b) You can also open an infobase by choosing "Open" from the file menu and then choosing the infobase you want to open.

 

Finding Information within the Infobases

There are several different ways to access the data within the various infobases:

a) Browsing

1. Choosing a specific infobase

This is a great method to use if you know where you are going to find the information.  Clicking on a specific infobase displays the contents.  You can then drill down by selecting the diamond icon until you find what you want.  In the above example I might choose:

 By clicking the diamond I get a list of these standards:

Choosing FAS 1 I will see the entire document.

2. Use the Topical Index

This browses the table of contents of all the infobases at the same time. Select "topical index" from the menu.  You will see a series of letters appear in alphabetic order on the screen.  Choose a letter that corresponds with the first letter of your topic. This will list terms that begin with that letter.  If you click a term you will find underlying links. 

eg: Plant closings



Choosing P, then scroll down.  You will see the database provides cross references.

PLANT CLOSINGS

See Business Combinations (APB 16)

See Business Combinations (FAS 141)

Duplicate Facilities following a
Purchase Business Combination
. . Costs of Closing Duplicate Facilities
of an Acquirer FTB85-5, ¶1-2 B50.651-652 EITF.84-35
B51.501-502

1. The Query Function

The query function is by far the best method as it searches within documents.  You can search across all infobases at once by choosing Topic Index.   Once you have chosen the Topic Index then:

Click on the Query button on the tool bar.  It looks like a set of binoculars. 

Enter your search term or terms and click ok.  Hits to your query will show up. You can move through the results by choosing next or previous hit.

 

2. Search Operators

The FARS database supports various operators within the query function:

To find both concepts:    dog and cat       dog cat    

To find either concept:  dog or cat   dog/cat

To find one concept and not the other:  dog not cat

To find either concept: dog xor cat

Phrase searching:  "to be or not to be"

Wild card  *

Search results for the search:  retail method* and inventor*



3. Search Limits

By typing a left square bracket, you will be able to limit your search to various parts of a document.  You can limit to information in the notes (footnotes), content, heading, and various other choices.

 

The results

Any search will result in a sequence of references.  As shown above this appears in three columns. 

Column 1: The first column gives the FASB statement number

Column 2: The second column gives a paragraph number within the statement

Column 3: The final column gives and EITF or Q&A or other implementation procedure reference. 

Any reference to a footnote appears in red text. 

Viewing the data

The different views, what they show and when you use them are outlined in the table below.

View name	shows document reference	shows document table of contents	shows hit list	use
content/document	yes	yes	yes	to see all related information at one time
document	yes		yes	default view
content		yes
hit list			yes
object				to display any linked objects.

Viewing the Documents

Simply click on the reference links to find the text or paragraph required in the FASB publications.

In the above example I clicked on ARB43, Ch.4, 10.  This is what appears.  Notice that the header gives you the chapter and paragraph. The full text is written below it.



Marking Records
You can mark records by tagging them.  Use the Tag record button on the toolbar .  Tagged records may be collected into a single view for viewing or printing.

Printing and exporting

To print, select the records you wish to print and choose print from the file menu. You may also select the printer button on the toolbar.

You can export text to various file formats.  Choose the export button on the toolbar and then choose an appropriate format to export the file . 

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Created: September 15, 2003  Updated by Hazel Cameron: 03 Jan 2007

(c) All rights reserved.