Accounting standards place limits on the set of allowable alternative accounting treatments, but the accountant must still exercise judgment to choose among the remaining alternatives. In making those choices, which of the following should the accountant seek to do?
1. Maximize reported income.
2. Minimize reported income.
3. Ignore the impact of the accounting choice on income and just focus on the most conceptually correct option. Would your answer change if this were a tax accounting class? Why or why not?