The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is a private, non-profit organization market regulator[1] whose primary purpose is to establish and improve generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) within the United States in the public's interest. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) designated the FASB as the organization responsible for setting accounting standards for public companies in the U.S. The FASB replaced the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' (AICPA) Accounting Principles Board (APB) on July 1, 1973.

In 2009 Reuters, the Wall Street Journal, USA Today and others claimed that the FASB succumbed to "political pressure" and lobbyists and tweaked mark-to-market accounting to accommodate "banks with toxic assets on their books."

Source: WIKIPEDIA