State and local governments are accountable to much more than private investors. They are accountable to the community as a whole. Communities are required to publish a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). Please locate a state or local government’s comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) and answer the following questions: How does the CAFR compare to a traditional for-profit business? What are the major sources of revenue and expenditures? Do you feel that this entity is healthy and what are some areas of improvement?

State and local governments are accountable to much more than private investors. They are accountable to the community as a whole. Communities are required to publish a comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). Please locate a state or local government’s comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) and answer the following questions: How does the CAFR compare to a traditional for-profit business? What are the major sources of revenue and expenditures? Do you feel that this entity is healthy and what are some areas of improvement?

Principles of Accounting Volume 2

19th Edition

ISBN:9781947172609

Author:OpenStax

Publisher:OpenStax

Chapter12: Balanced Scorecard And Other Performance Measures

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 7MC: A good performance measurement system will align the goals of management with_______. A. the goals...

See similar textbooks

Similar questions

A good performance measurement system will align the goals of management with_______. A. the goals of the city manager and the mayoral staff B. the goals of the corporation, and both parties will benefit C. the priorities of the stockholders as listed at the annual meeting D. the Investment departments response to the annual audit
The City of Francois, Texas, has begun the process of producing its current comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR). Several organizations that operate within the city are related in some way to the primary government. The city’s accountant is attempting to determine how these organizations should be included in the reporting process.a. What is the major criterion for inclusion in a government’s CAFR?b. How does an activity or function qualify as a special purpose government?c. How is the legal separation of a special purpose government evaluated?d. How is the fiscal independence of a special purpose government evaluated?e. What is a component unit, and how is it normally reported on government-wide financial statements?f. How does a primary government prove that it can impose its will on a component unit?g. What is meant by the blending of a component unit?
An unqualified opinion on the financial statements of a local government means that all statements in the comprehensive annual financial report (CAFR) have been audited and conform with GAAP." Do you agree or disagree? Why? Describe the difficulty in comparing the financial performance of a not-for-profit organization to other similar organizations. What benchmarks are available to assist in this task? Describe the treatment of a not-for-profit, nongovernmental foundation that is related to a public university under GASB standards. What are the benefits to a state or local government of establishing an audit committee?
A governmental agency can best be described by which of the following statements? has a primary purpose of making a profit has a primary purpose of using taxpayer funds to provide services produces goods for sale to the public has regular shareholder meetings
As this and the previous chapter have discussed, public colleges and universities follow GASB standards. These schools have been directed to use the same reporting model as state and local governments. Such schools frequently classify themselves as special purpose governments consisting solely of business-type activities. In that way, they only need to produce fund financial statements as an enterprise fund.In contrast, private not-for-profit colleges and universities adhere to FASB Accounting Standards Codification® requirements and prepare financial statements. U.S. GAAP for public schools comes from GASB while, for private schools, it comes from FASB.Readers of college and university financial statements might want to compare the data presented by various institutions. This information is especially important to potential donors who are attempting to evaluate each school’s efficiency and effectiveness in utilizing the funding that it receives.Are decision makers well served by the…
The body currently responsible for developing local governmental accounting standards is the a. Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) b. Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) c. National Council on Governmental Accounting (NCGA) d. Municipal Finance Officers Association (MFOA)
Identify the types of financial statements issued annually by federal agencies. Compare and contrast them against the financial statements issued by a state government and a for-profit business. Discuss why there is a difference between the three.
Examine the role of accounting theory in addressing the challenges of measuring and reporting the performance of non-profit organizations and government entities.
What is the significance of the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting awarded to the City of Phoenix by the Government Finance Officers Association?
Please help with the following: Review FASB Statement of Financial Accounting Concept No. 1, No. 4, and No. 8, as well as GASB Statement No. 1. Compare the financial reporting needs of the users of governmental, nonprofit, and for-profit entities. Identify a local government, nonprofit, and for-profit business in your community, and describe the resource providers/users for each type of organization. Explain the need for information for each resource provider/user group. Discuss how the objectives of the financial reporting listed for each type of organization meet these needs.
IS IT AN ASSET OR A LIABILITY? During the long evolution of government accounting, many scholars have discussed its unique features. In the August 1989 issue of the Journal of Accountancy, R. K. Mautz described the reporting needs of governments and not-for-profit organizations (such as charities) in his essay “Not-For-Profit Financial Reporting: Another View.” To illustrate the governmental accounting challenges, Mautz examined the method by which a city should record a newly constructed high school building. Conventional business wisdom would say that such a property is an asset owned by the government. Thus, the cost should be capitalized and then depreciated over an estimated useful life. However, Mautz pointed to paragraph 26 of FASB Concepts Statement No. 6, which asserted that an essential characteristic of an asset is “a probable future benefit . . . to contribute directly or indirectly to future net cash inflows.” Mautz reasoned that the school building cannot be considered an…
Describe the primary characteristics for governmental and not-for-profit entities. How does this differ from the primary characteristics for business organizations? Can you explain how budgetary accounting contributes to achieving budgetary control over revenues and expenditures for governmental entities and not-for-profit entities please