Accounting for and auditing of digital assets
The objective of this practice aid is to develop nonauthoritative guidance on how to account for and audit digital assets under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) for nongovernmental entities and generally accepted auditing standards (GAAS), respectively. This guidance is intended for financial statement preparers and auditors with a fundamental knowledge of blockchain technology. For the purposes of this practice aid, digital assets are defined broadly as digital records that are made using cryptography for verification and security purposes, on a distributed ledger (referred to as a blockchain). The distributed ledger keeps a record of all transactions on a blockchain network. Digital assets, as defined herein, may be characterized by their ability to be used for a variety of purposes, including as a medium of exchange, as a representation to provide or access goods or services, or as a financing vehicle, such as a security, among other uses.