Accounting Regulatory Bodies Paper

Accounting regulatory bodies is a self-regulating association, which manages the actions of companies in a business. The purpose of them is to protect the interest of the public, promote constant growth and protect its own self interest. In this paper I will explore Nikes' organization and how it meets the terms of specific rules of GAAP. Nike was discovered by Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman in 1962 offers an enormous variety of athletic gear to consumers worldwide. As of today Nike is the leading footwear competitor in the global market which can be contributed to "quality production, innovative products, and aggressive marketing" (Almaney 2000). The four regulatory bodies that I choose to look at are balance sheet, income statement, statement of cash flows and statement of stockholder's equity.

A balance sheet is reported on a particular date in time and details exactly what a company owns and what it owes. Income statements look at an era of time like a month, quarter or year and are reports showing the outcome of operations for the accounting period. Statement of cash flows covers the same period of time as the income statement and details the sources of the organizations inflows and outflows. Statement of stockholders equity also covers a period of time and it looks at the equity part of the company's balance sheet.

I choose to review Nikes financial reports for the fiscal year which ended May, 31, 2004. It is my conclusion that Nike complied with all the standards of the accounting regulatory bodies by providing detailed analysis of the company's earnings and revenues for that year. The balance sheet showed in increase of 8% of worldwide stock from the previous year and an increase of cash and short-term assets. The income statement showed in increase of gross margins and selling and administrative expenses in comparison with 2003.Nike introduced a four year plan for 1.5 billion share repurchase program