Accounting Practices

Depending on the type and size of a particular health care facility, the generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) used to conduct medical accounting can vary greatly, and these differences may have significant impact on the eventual delivery of medical services. According to the Financial Accounting Standards Board's (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification, which is "the source of authoritative generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) recognized by the FASB to be applied by nongovernmental entities," a conflict of interest routinely occurs when "some health care entities recognize patient service revenue at the time the services are rendered regardless of whether the entity expects to collect that amount" (FASB, 2011). Individual doctors working within the confines of a small family practice, who have not fully incorporated, typically rely on cash-basis accounting, which is the "major accounting method that recognizes revenues and expenses at the time physical cash is actually received or paid...
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