Governmental Accounting

Question 1

Objectives for governmental Accounting

Answer 1

-Operational Accountability
* Has the government entity been effective and efficient in its operations?
- Government- wide financial statements.

-Fiscal Accountability
* Has the government entity complied and achieved its budgets?
* Fund- financial statements

Question 2

Governmental Financial Statements

Answer 2

• Introductory Section
• Letter of Transmittal
• List of Principal Officers
• Organizational Chart
• Management discission and Analysis
• Government Wide Financial Statements
• Fund Financial Statements
• Governmental Funds Financial Statement
• Proprietary Funds Financial Statement
• Fiduciary Funds Financial Statement
• Component Units Financial Statements
• Notes to Financial Statements
• Required Supplementary Information other than MD&A
• Statistical Section
  *10-years of Selected Financial Data
• 10-years of Economic Data

Question 3

Measurement Focus & Accounting Basis for Governmental Financial Statements

Answer 3

Government-Wide Financial Statements
* Accrual Basis
* Economic Resources
* Measurement Focus

Governmental Funds Financial Statements
* Modified Accrual Basis
* Current Financial Resources
* Measurement Focus

Proprietary Funds Financial Statement
* Accrual Basis
* Economic Resources
* Measurement Focus

Fiduciary Funds Financial Statements
* Accrual basis
* Economic resources
* Measurement Focus

Component Units Financial Statements
* Accrual basis
* Economic Resources
* Measurement Focus

Question 4

Governmental Funds

Answer 4

• General Fund
• The primary operating fund used to account for all financial resources not allocated to other specific funds.

Special Revenue Funds
* Account for specific revenue sources that are restricted or committed to finance particular activities or programs.

-Capital Projects Funds
* Account for financial resources used for the acquisition or construction of major capital assets, such as buildings, infrastructure, or equipment.

• Debt Service Funds
• Account for the accumulation of resources and payment of principal and interest on long-term debt.

-Permanent Funds
* Account for resources that are legally restricted, where only earnings (and not the principal ) can be used for purposes that support the governments programs.

Question 5

Proprietary Funds

Answer 5

-Enterprise Funds
* account for operations that provide goods or services to the public and are financed through user charges.
* Examples include water utilities, public transportation systems, and airports.

-Internal Service Funds
* Account for activities that provide goods or services to other departments or agencies within the government, or other governments, on a cost-reimbursement basis.
- Examples include central printing, Fleet management, and information technology services.

Question 6

Fiduciary Funds

Answer 6

• Pension Trust Funds
• Account for resources held in trust for the payment of retirement benefits for employees of the government or other participating entities.
• Investing Trust Funds
• Account for resources held in trust by the government for the benefit of specific individuals, organizations or other governments.

-Private-purpose Trust Funds
* Account for resources held in trust by the government for the benefit of specific individuals, organizations, or other governments.

-Custodial Funds
* Account for resources held by the government in a purely custodial capacity for others, such as taxes collected on behalf of another government or assets held for unclaimed property.

Question 7

Component Units

Answer 7

-Component units are legally separate organizations that are closely related to a primary government, such that their financial activities should be included in the primary governments financial statement.

• Component units are autonomous legally separate units satisfying either of the 2 conditions below.
• The primary government appoints a voting majority of the organizations governing board.
• The organization is fiscally dependent on the primary government, and there is a financial benefit or burden relationship between the primary government and the organization.