<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<InstanceReport xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" xmlns:xsd="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema">
  <Version>2.0.0.10</Version>
  <hasSegments>false</hasSegments>
  <ReportName>SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES</ReportName>
  <ReportLongName>006010 - Disclosure - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES</ReportLongName>
  <DisplayLabelColumn>true</DisplayLabelColumn>
  <ShowElementNames>false</ShowElementNames>
  <RoundingOption />
  <HasEmbeddedReports>false</HasEmbeddedReports>
  <Columns>
    <Column>
      <LabelColumn>false</LabelColumn>
      <Id>1</Id>
      <Labels>
        <Label Id="1" Label="3 Months Ended" />
        <Label Id="2" Label="Mar. 31, 2010" />
      </Labels>
      <CurrencyCode>usd</CurrencyCode>
      <CurrencySymbol>$</CurrencySymbol>
      <FootnoteIndexer />
      <hasSegments>false</hasSegments>
      <hasScenarios>false</hasScenarios>
      <Segments />
      <Scenarios />
      <Units>
        <Unit>
          <UnitID>u000</UnitID>
          <UnitType>Standard</UnitType>
          <StandardMeasure>
            <MeasureSchema>http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217</MeasureSchema>
            <MeasureValue>USD</MeasureValue>
            <MeasureNamespace>iso4217</MeasureNamespace>
          </StandardMeasure>
          <Scale>0</Scale>
        </Unit>
        <Unit>
          <UnitID>u001</UnitID>
          <UnitType>Standard</UnitType>
          <StandardMeasure>
            <MeasureSchema>http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance</MeasureSchema>
            <MeasureValue>shares</MeasureValue>
            <MeasureNamespace>xbrli</MeasureNamespace>
          </StandardMeasure>
          <Scale>0</Scale>
        </Unit>
        <Unit>
          <UnitID>u002</UnitID>
          <UnitType>Divide</UnitType>
          <NumeratorMeasure>
            <MeasureSchema>http://www.xbrl.org/2003/iso4217</MeasureSchema>
            <MeasureValue>USD</MeasureValue>
            <MeasureNamespace>iso4217</MeasureNamespace>
          </NumeratorMeasure>
          <DenominatorMeasure>
            <MeasureSchema>http://www.xbrl.org/2003/instance</MeasureSchema>
            <MeasureValue>shares</MeasureValue>
            <MeasureNamespace>xbrli</MeasureNamespace>
          </DenominatorMeasure>
          <Scale>0</Scale>
        </Unit>
      </Units>
    </Column>
  </Columns>
  <Rows>
    <Row>
      <Id>2</Id>
      <Label>Notes to Financial Statements [Abstract]</Label>
      <Level>0</Level>
      <ElementName>oks_NotesToFinancialStatementsAbstract</ElementName>
      <ElementPrefix>oks</ElementPrefix>
      <IsBaseElement>false</IsBaseElement>
      <BalanceType>na</BalanceType>
      <PeriodType>duration</PeriodType>
      <ElementDataType>string</ElementDataType>
      <ShortDefinition>No definition available.</ShortDefinition>
      <IsReportTitle>false</IsReportTitle>
      <IsSegmentTitle>false</IsSegmentTitle>
      <IsSubReportEnd>false</IsSubReportEnd>
      <IsCalendarTitle>false</IsCalendarTitle>
      <IsTuple>false</IsTuple>
      <IsAbstractGroupTitle>true</IsAbstractGroupTitle>
      <IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow>false</IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow>
      <IsEquityAdjustmentRow>false</IsEquityAdjustmentRow>
      <IsBeginningBalance>false</IsBeginningBalance>
      <IsEndingBalance>false</IsEndingBalance>
      <IsReverseSign>false</IsReverseSign>
      <PreferredLabelRole />
      <IsEPS>false</IsEPS>
      <FootnoteIndexer />
      <Cells>
        <Cell>
          <Id>1</Id>
          <ShowCurrencySymbol>false</ShowCurrencySymbol>
          <IsNumeric>false</IsNumeric>
          <IsRatio>false</IsRatio>
          <DisplayZeroAsNone>false</DisplayZeroAsNone>
          <NumericAmount>0</NumericAmount>
          <RoundedNumericAmount>0</RoundedNumericAmount>
          <NonNumbericText />
          <NonNumericTextHeader />
          <FootnoteIndexer />
          <hasSegments>false</hasSegments>
          <hasScenarios>false</hasScenarios>
          <DisplayDateInUSFormat>false</DisplayDateInUSFormat>
        </Cell>
      </Cells>
      <OriginalInstanceReportColumns />
      <ElementDefenition>No definition available.</ElementDefenition>
      <IsTotalLabel>false</IsTotalLabel>
    </Row>
    <Row>
      <Id>3</Id>
      <Label>Summary of Significant Accounting Policies</Label>
      <Level>1</Level>
      <ElementName>us-gaap_SignificantAccountingPoliciesTextBlock</ElementName>
      <ElementPrefix>us-gaap</ElementPrefix>
      <IsBaseElement>true</IsBaseElement>
      <BalanceType>na</BalanceType>
      <PeriodType>duration</PeriodType>
      <ElementDataType>string</ElementDataType>
      <ShortDefinition>No definition available.</ShortDefinition>
      <IsReportTitle>false</IsReportTitle>
      <IsSegmentTitle>false</IsSegmentTitle>
      <IsSubReportEnd>false</IsSubReportEnd>
      <IsCalendarTitle>false</IsCalendarTitle>
      <IsTuple>false</IsTuple>
      <IsAbstractGroupTitle>false</IsAbstractGroupTitle>
      <IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow>false</IsEquityPrevioslyReportedAsRow>
      <IsEquityAdjustmentRow>false</IsEquityAdjustmentRow>
      <IsBeginningBalance>false</IsBeginningBalance>
      <IsEndingBalance>false</IsEndingBalance>
      <IsReverseSign>false</IsReverseSign>
      <PreferredLabelRole>label</PreferredLabelRole>
      <IsEPS>false</IsEPS>
      <FootnoteIndexer />
      <Cells>
        <Cell>
          <Id>1</Id>
          <ShowCurrencySymbol>false</ShowCurrencySymbol>
          <IsNumeric>false</IsNumeric>
          <IsRatio>false</IsRatio>
          <DisplayZeroAsNone>false</DisplayZeroAsNone>
          <NumericAmount>0</NumericAmount>
          <RoundedNumericAmount>0</RoundedNumericAmount>
          <NonNumbericText>&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"&gt;A.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"&gt;Our accompanying unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with GAAP and reflect all adjustments that, in our opinion, are necessary for a fair presentation of the results for the interim periods presented.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;All such adjustments are of a normal recurring nature.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;The 2009 year-end consolidated balance sheet data was derived from audited financial statements but does not include all disclosures required by GAAP.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with our audited consolidated financial statements in our Annual Report.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"&gt;Our accounting policies are consistent with those disclosed in Note A of the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in our Annual Report.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"&gt;Recently Issued Accounting Updates&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"&gt;The following recently issued accounting standards updates affect our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures:&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures&lt;/font&gt; - In January 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-06, &amp;#8220;Improving Disclosures about Fair Value Measurements,&amp;#8221; which established new disclosure requirements and clarified existing requirements for disclosures of fair value measurements.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;ASU 2010-06 required us to add two new disclosures, when applicable: (i) transfers in and out of Level 1 and 2 fair value measurements including the reasons for the transfers, and (ii) a gross presentation of activity within the reconciliation of Level 3 fair value measurements.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;Except for separate disclosure of purchases, sales, issuances and settlements in the reconciliation of our Level 3 fair value measurements, we applied this guidance to our disclosures beginning with this Quarterly Report.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;The separate disclosure of purchases, sales, issuances and settlements will be required beginning with our March 31, 2011, Quarterly Report, and we do not expect the impact to be material.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;ASU 2010-06 requires prospective application in the period of adoption, and we have not recast our prior-year disclosures.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;See Note B for more discussion of our fair value measurements.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt"&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN-LEFT: 0pt; TEXT-INDENT: 0pt; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0pt" align="left"&gt;&lt;font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman"&gt;&lt;font style="DISPLAY: inline; FONT-WEIGHT: bold"&gt;Embedded Credit Derivatives&lt;/font&gt; - In March 2010, the FASB issued ASU 2010-11, &amp;#8220;Scope Exception Related to Embedded Credit Derivatives,&amp;#8221; which clarified that disclosures required for credit derivatives do not apply to an embedded derivative&amp;#8217;s feature related to the transfer of credit risk that is only in the form of subordination of one financial instrument to another.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;This guidance will be effective for our September 30, 2010, Quarterly Report and will be applied prospectively.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;We are currently reviewing the applicability of ASU 2010-11 to our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.&lt;/font&gt;&lt;/div&gt;</NonNumbericText>
          <NonNumericTextHeader>A.&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;&amp;#160;SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIESOur accompanying unaudited consolidated financial</NonNumericTextHeader>
          <FootnoteIndexer />
          <hasSegments>false</hasSegments>
          <hasScenarios>false</hasScenarios>
          <DisplayDateInUSFormat>false</DisplayDateInUSFormat>
        </Cell>
      </Cells>
      <OriginalInstanceReportColumns />
      <ElementDefenition>This element may be used to describe all significant accounting policies of the reporting entity.</ElementDefenition>
      <ElementReferences>Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
 -Publisher AICPA
 -Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB)
 -Number 22
 -Paragraph 8

</ElementReferences>
      <IsTotalLabel>false</IsTotalLabel>
    </Row>
  </Rows>
  <Footnotes />
  <ComparabilityReport>false</ComparabilityReport>
  <NumberOfCols>1</NumberOfCols>
  <NumberOfRows>2</NumberOfRows>
  <HasScenarios>false</HasScenarios>
  <MonetaryRoundingLevel>UnKnown</MonetaryRoundingLevel>
  <SharesRoundingLevel>UnKnown</SharesRoundingLevel>
  <PerShareRoundingLevel>UnKnown</PerShareRoundingLevel>
  <HasPureData>false</HasPureData>
  <SharesShouldBeRounded>true</SharesShouldBeRounded>
</InstanceReport>
