Directly quoting bkuhn from #npoacct @ irc.freenode.net: │17:31:34 bkuhn | oh, reason is easy: in the USA, any bookkeeping system that isn't double-entry would │ │ | likely not be considered appropriate GAAP │ │17:31:50 bkuhn | you can link GAAP to │ │ | http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generally_accepted_accounting_principles │ │17:31:54 bkuhn | GAAP is an odd thing. │ │17:31:58 bkuhn | It's not the "law" │ │17:32:10 bkuhn | but accountants would tell the IRS "we think something bad is going on" if you didn't │ │ | follow GAAP │ │17:32:20 bkuhn | Also, GAAP isn't a list of rules. │ │17:32:29 bkuhn | It's basically 'rough consensus' of accountants │ │17:33:08 bkuhn | So, it's somewhere in between "implicit norm" and the "law" │ │17:33:27 bkuhn | in the sense that you'd probably loose your non-profit status from the IRS if your │ │ | auditors said you weren't following GAAP For convenience: [[!wikipedia Generally_accepted_accounting_principles]] [wikipedia]