Find the standard.
Read it in context.

ASC 606 establishes a single, principles-based model for recognizing revenue from contracts with customers: revenue is recognized to depict the transfer of promised goods or services in an amount reflecting the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled, applied through five steps (606-10-05-4) — identify the contract, identify the performance obligations, determine the transaction price, allocate the price, and recognize revenue when (or as) each performance obligation is satisfied by transferring control. ASC 606-10 supplies the general model, including the contract criteria in 606-10-25-1, the "distinct" test for performance obligations (606-10-25-19), contract combination and modification rules (606-10-25-9 through 25-13), the over-time criteria in 606-10-25-27 versus point-in-time control indicators in 606-10-25-30, and presentation of contract assets, contract liabilities, and receivables (606-10-45-1 through 45-4). ASC 606-952 layers on a narrow practical expedient letting franchisors that are not public business entities treat listed pre-opening services as distinct from the franchise license, and optionally as a single performance obligation. The unifying idea is that control — the ability to direct the use of and obtain substantially all the remaining benefits from an asset — drives both what is promised and when revenue is recognized.

ASC 842 replaces the old capital/operating lease model with a right-of-use framework: a contract is or contains a lease if it conveys the right to control the use of an identified item of PP&E for a period of time in exchange for consideration (842-10-15-3, 15-4), and 842-10 supplies the common mechanics — identifying and separating lease and nonlease components, allocating consideration, classifying the lease at commencement under the five criteria in 842-10-25-2, and determining lease term and lease payments. Lessees then apply 842-20, recognizing an ROU asset and lease liability at the present value of unpaid lease payments (842-20-25-1; 30-1), with finance leases producing amortization plus interest and operating leases a single straight-line lease cost; lessors apply 842-30, either derecognizing the asset and recording a net investment in the lease (sales-type/direct financing) or keeping the asset and recognizing straight-line lease income (operating), subject to a collectibility-not-probable override. Specialized subtopics address sale and leaseback transactions and failed sales accounted for as financings (842-40), grandfathered leveraged leases (842-50), rate-regulated entities (842-980), and REIT service corporation leasing costs (842-974). The central idea is that classification drives the pattern of expense and income recognition, but essentially all leases are now on the lessee's balance sheet.

ASC 326 (Credit Losses) tells an entity how to measure expected credit losses on financial instruments through three subtopics: 326-10 Overall (purpose, scope for all entities, and the Section 65 transition/effective-date guidance, including ASU 2025-05 on accounts receivable and contract assets and ASU 2025-08 on purchased loans), 326-20 the CECL model for assets measured at amortized cost, and 326-30 impairment of available-for-sale debt securities. Under 326-20, an entity records at each reporting date an allowance—a valuation account deducted from amortized cost—equal to all credit losses expected over the contractual term, estimated on a pool basis when assets share similar risk characteristics, using historical loss experience adjusted for current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts with reversion to historical information thereafter (326-20-30-1, 30-2, 30-6, 30-8 through 30-9). Under 326-30, impairment is instead assessed security by security: the credit portion of a decline below amortized cost (present value of expected cash flows discounted at the effective interest rate versus amortized cost) is recorded as an allowance capped at the fair value shortfall, the rest goes to OCI, and an intent or likely requirement to sell triggers a write-down to fair value through earnings (326-30-35-1, 35-6, 35-10). The unifying idea is that credit losses are recognized currently and forward-lookingly through an allowance that presents the net amount expected to be collected, rather than only when losses are incurred.

ASC 350 covers the accounting for goodwill and other intangible assets after acquisition — recognition of internally developed and separately acquired intangibles, subsequent measurement, impairment, presentation, and disclosure — while leaving acquisition-date accounting to Topic 805 and 958-805 (350-10-05-1; 05-3A). The organizing idea is that subsequent accounting turns on the nature and life of the asset: goodwill is never amortized under the general model but is tested for impairment at the reporting unit level at least annually (350-20-35-1; 35-4), finite-lived intangibles are amortized and tested under Subtopic 360-10 while indefinite-lived intangibles are not amortized and are tested annually by comparing fair value with carrying amount (350-30-35-6; 35-18), and in-scope crypto assets are remeasured at fair value through net income (350-60-35-1). Cost-capitalization subtopics (350-40 internal-use software, 350-50 website development costs, 350-985 link to 985-20) draw stage-based lines between expensing and capitalizing, and industry subtopics (350-908 airlines, 350-920 broadcasters, 350-922 cable television, 350-932 oil and gas, 350-950 title plants, 350-980 regulated operations) tailor or except those rules. Key elective relief: private companies and NFPs may amortize goodwill over 10 years or less and test only upon a triggering event (350-20-35-63; 35-65 through 35-66).

ASC 740 sets out the asset-and-liability model for income taxes: recognize current taxes payable or refundable plus deferred tax assets and liabilities for the future tax consequences of all temporary differences and operating loss/tax credit carryforwards, measured at enacted rates without discounting, with deferred tax assets reduced by a valuation allowance when realization is not more likely than not (740-10-10-1; 740-10-25-2; 740-10-30-5, 30-8), and recognize uncertain tax positions under the two-step more-likely-than-not recognition and largest-benefit-greater-than-50-percent measurement model (740-10-25-6; 740-10-30-7). The remaining subtopics build on that core: 740-20 allocates the period's total tax among continuing operations (computed first, "with-and-without"), discontinued operations, OCI, and equity; 740-30 houses the outside-basis exceptions and the indefinite reversal criteria for foreign subsidiaries and joint ventures; 740-805 supplies the business combination rules; and 740-830 addresses foreign currency and price-level basis differences. A long tail of industry subtopics (casinos, oil and gas, insurance, thrifts, investment companies, health care, CIRAs, regulated utilities, bankruptcy/quasi-reorganization, and the now-superseded steamship guidance) adds narrow exceptions, presentation options, and disclosures. The unifying idea is comprehensive interperiod tax allocation subject to a short, closed list of exceptions in 740-10-25-3 and its industry counterparts.

ASC 805 requires every transaction meeting the definition of a business combination to be accounted for by the acquisition method: identify the acquirer, determine the acquisition date (805-10), recognize and measure the identifiable assets acquired, liabilities assumed and any noncontrolling interest at acquisition-date fair value subject to a closed list of exceptions (805-20), and recognize goodwill — the excess of consideration transferred plus NCI plus any previously held equity interest over identifiable net assets — or, after reassessment, a bargain purchase gain (805-30). Specialized subtopics adapt or displace that model: reverse acquisitions where the legal acquirer is the accounting acquiree (805-40), joint venture formations that apply a new basis without identifying an acquirer (805-60), and 805-50's residual bucket of asset acquisitions (cost allocated on relative fair values, no goodwill), common-control transfers at carryover basis, and optional pushdown accounting. Industry and entity-type overlays cover mining (805-930), insurance and demutualizations (805-944), not-for-profit mergers under the carryover method and NFP acquisitions with inherent contributions (958-805), and health care performance-indicator presentation (805-954). The central idea is that control obtained over a *business* triggers fresh-start fair value measurement and goodwill, while everything short of that is measured at cost or carryover basis.

ASC 815 tells you when a contract is a derivative, how derivatives are measured, and when an entity may elect the special "hedge accounting" that overrides normal measurement. The Overall Subtopic (815-10) defines a derivative by three characteristics — an underlying plus a notional or payment provision, little or no initial net investment, and net settlement (815-10-15-83) — lists the scope exceptions (notably normal purchases and normal sales and certain contracts in an entity's own equity), and requires all derivatives to be recognized on the balance sheet at fair value; 815-15 extends that reach by requiring bifurcation of embedded derivatives that are not clearly and closely related to their host (815-15-25-1), and 815-40 supplies the indexation and equity-classification tests for contracts in an entity's own stock. Hedge accounting is elective and gated by the designation and documentation rules of 815-20, with the mechanics differing by hedge type: fair value hedges adjust the hedged item's carrying amount with both sides in earnings (815-25-35-1), cash flow hedges park the change in fair value in OCI until the forecasted transaction affects earnings (815-30-35-3), and net investment hedges report effective amounts in the cumulative translation adjustment (815-35-35-1). Industry Subtopics (815-45 weather derivatives, 815-924 casinos, 815-932 gas balancing, 815-944 insurance, 815-954 NFP health care, 815-958 not-for-profit, 815-980 power sales) apply or carve out this framework for particular contracts and entities.

ASC 718 requires an entity to recognize the cost of all share-based payment transactions using a fair-value-based method, generally the grant-date fair value of the equity instruments issued (or the fair value of liabilities incurred), recognized as goods are obtained or services are received over the requisite service period (718-10-10-2; 718-10-25-2; 718-10-30-3). The Overall Subtopic (718-10) sets scope, recognition, classification (Topic 480 as modified by 718-10-25-8 through 25-19A), and the treatment of service, performance (probable-outcome accrual) and market (built into grant-date fair value) conditions; 718-20 then handles subsequent measurement of equity-classified awards—modifications as an exchange of the old award for a new one with incremental cost, plus repurchases, cancellations, and clawbacks—while 718-30 handles liability-classified awards, which are remeasured each reporting period through the settlement date. Specialized subtopics cover ESOPs (718-40, with unearned ESOP shares as contra-equity and compensation cost measured at the fair value of shares committed to be released), employee share purchase plans (718-50, and its three-part noncompensatory test in 718-50-25-1), and income taxes (718-740, where book compensation cost creates a deductible temporary difference and the difference from the actual deduction hits income tax expense or benefit). The unifying idea: classification (equity vs. liability) drives whether the grant-date measure is frozen or remeasured, but compensation cost is always recognized as the entity receives the goods or services.

ASC 260 sets the rules for computing, presenting, and disclosing basic and diluted earnings per share for entities with publicly traded common stock or potential common stock. Basic EPS is income available to common stockholders (income reduced by preferred dividends declared or cumulatively accumulated, excluding amounts attributable to noncontrolling interests) divided by weighted-average shares outstanding (260-10-45-10 through 45-11A), while diluted EPS layers in all dilutive potential common shares using the treasury stock method for options and warrants (260-10-45-22 through 45-29), the reverse treasury stock method for written puts and forward purchases, and the if-converted method for convertible securities (260-10-45-40). The pieces fit together through a discipline of dilution: each issue is tested separately, ranked most to least dilutive, antidilutive items are excluded, and income (loss) from continuing operations is the control number, so a loss from continuing operations bars inclusion of any potential common shares (260-10-45-17 through 45-20). Specialized rules address contingently issuable and contingently convertible shares, the two-class method for participating securities (including unvested awards with nonforfeitable dividend rights), down round features treated as a deemed dividend, and master limited partnership earnings per unit.

ASC 230 requires every entity that presents both financial position and results of operations to present a statement of cash flows classifying cash receipts and payments as operating, investing, or financing activities, and to explain the change in the total of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents (230-10-15-3, 45-4, 45-24). The Overall subtopic (230-10) sets the core rules: the direct method (encouraged) or indirect method with a required reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities, gross reporting with narrow net-reporting exceptions, no cash flow per share, the predominance test for cash flows with more than one class, and disclosures of the cash equivalents policy, interest and taxes paid, noncash investing and financing activities, and cash restrictions (230-10-45-3, 45-7 through 45-9, 45-22 and 45-22A, 45-25 through 45-29, 50-1 through 50-8). The remaining subtopics graft narrow overlays onto that framework — foreign currency translation and the separate exchange rate effect line (230-830), banks' net reporting (230-942), operating classification of film costs (230-926), broadcast program license rights (230-920), real estate held for resale (230-970), time-sharing notes receivable (230-978), NFP donor-restricted and agency cash flows (230-958), investment company exemption and reinvested distributions (230-946), and the superseded development stage entity rules (230-915). The unifying idea is that classification follows the nature and purpose of the cash flow — inventory-like or revenue-producing activity is operating even when the related asset is capitalized.

ASC 450 is the general framework for contingencies — existing conditions whose uncertainty will be resolved by a future event confirming the acquisition of an asset, reduction of a liability, impairment of an asset, or incurrence of a liability (450-10-05-5) — noting that merely using an estimate does not create a contingency (450-10-05-6). The Topic is deliberately asymmetric: a loss contingency is accrued only when it is probable that an asset was impaired or a liability incurred at the balance sheet date and the amount is reasonably estimable (450-20-25-2, with range accrual at the best estimate or the minimum per 450-20-30-1), and disclosed when a loss is at least reasonably possible (450-20-50-3 through 50-4); a gain contingency is generally not recognized at all, only disclosed without misleading implications about realization (450-30-25-1, 450-30-50-1). Industry and entity-specific subtopics adapt the model: government contractors (450-912), rate-regulated utilities where regulator-approved recovery creates a liability rather than income (450-980-25-1), not-for-profits facing donor-restriction noncompliance or tax-exempt status problems (450-958), and health care entities accruing malpractice losses (including incurred-but-not-reported incidents) gross of insurance recoveries (450-954). The single most important idea is the probable/reasonably-estimable accrual threshold paired with the conservative refusal to anticipate gains.

ASC 820 establishes a single definition of fair value—the exit price to sell an asset or transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date—and one framework for measuring it and disclosing it whenever another Topic requires or permits fair value (820-10-15-1 through 15-2, with exceptions for Topic 718 share-based payment other than 718-40, Topic 330, Topic 606, and 610-20). The measurement is market-based rather than entity-specific: it assumes a transaction in the principal (or most advantageous) market, uses market-participant assumptions, ignores the entity's intent to hold or settle, presumes highest and best use for nonfinancial assets, and assumes transfer (not settlement) of liabilities and own-equity instruments including nonperformance and own credit risk. Entities apply the market, cost, or income approach consistently and maximize observable inputs, categorizing inputs in a three-level hierarchy with the whole measurement classified at the lowest level input that is significant to it (Level 1 quoted prices generally unadjusted; blockage factors prohibited). The industry Subtopic 820-940 supplements this for brokers and dealers, listing nonexclusive factors used to determine a financial instrument's fair value (820-940-30-1) and requiring disclosure when an instrument is carried below its quoted price (820-940-50-1).