What is the main purpose of a company accounting information to the government?
Unlike most private sector organizations, governmental entities must be responsive to a number of different groups and organizations, including elected officials, other units of governments, investors, creditors, and citizens that are focused on monitoring their activities. All forms of monitoring include collecting and interpreting data, and this oversight function is often performed through information provided in governmental reports. Among the most important types of communication is the annual financial report, which presents the financial position, operating results, and cash flows for a particular accounting period. All governments, including school districts, develop their annual financial reports in accordance with principles established by standard-setting authorities to provide consistency and comparability for users. For governments to achieve the objective of accountability, financial information must be both relevant and reliable for reasonably informed users. Financial reports must satisfy numerous and diverse needs or objectives, including short-term financial position and liquidity, budgetary and legal compliance, and issues having a long-term focus such as capital budgeting and maintenance. Additionally, differences exist in the amount of detail that various users need. Following a decade of research and analysis, the GASB recently concluded that to meet the varied needs of a wide range of users, governmental reports must provide information regarding the public entity as a whole in addition to the traditional fund financial statements. Accordingly, in June 1999 GASB introduced a new financial reporting model in Statement 34, Basic Financial Statements—and Management's Discussion and Analysis—for State and Local Governments. The new model integrates the traditional focus of governmental fund financial statements relating to fiscal accountability (and the modified accrual basis of accounting) with new forms of reporting (e.g., governmentwide financial statements). The two levels of financial reporting are intended to
[back to top] Governmental GAAP Hierarchy
The appropriateness of other accounting literature depends on its relevance to particular circumstances, the specificity of the guidance, and the general recognition of the issuer or author as an authority. [back to top] Measurement Focus and Basis of Accounting Traditionally, the majority of governmental financial information has been maintained and reported in the fund financial statements on the modified accrual basis of accounting or the accrual basis for business-type activities. The recently enacted GASB Statement 34 establishes additional reporting (the governmentwide statements) that represents a major shift in the focus and content of governmental financial statements. Collecting and reporting additional financial information required by the governmentwide statements add to the complexity of financial reporting activities and have significant implications for the traditional focus and basis of accounting used in governmental financial statements. The new governmentwide financial statements consist of a Statement of Net Assets and a Statement of Activities and are prepared using the economic resources measurement focus and the accrual basis of accounting. Thus, revenues are recognized in the accounting period in which they are earned and become measurable without regard to availability, and expenses are recognized in the period incurred, if measurable. Governmental fund financial statements continue to be prepared using the current financial resources measurement focus and the modified accrual basis of accounting. Revenues are recognized in the accounting period in which they become available and measurable, and expenditures are recognized in the period in which the fund liability is incurred, if measurable, except for unmatured interest on general long-term debt, which should be recognized when due.1 Proprietary fund financial statements continue to be prepared using the economic resources measurement focus and the accrual basis of accounting. Like proprietary fund financial statements, fiduciary fund financial statements are prepared using the economic resources measurement focus and the accrual basis of accounting. Table 1 summarizes the measurement focus and basis of accounting for each reporting element and type of fund.
GASB Statement 20, as amended by Statement 34, allows a government the option of applying FASB Statements and Interpretations issued after November 30, 1989, except for those that conflict with or contradict GASB pronouncements, to enterprise funds and governmentwide financial statements. The election is made on a fund-by-fund basis; however, consistency in the application within a particular entity fund is encouraged. [back to top] For governmental entities to ensure the proper segregation of resources and to maintain proper accountability, an entity's accounting system should be organized and operated on a fund basis. Each fund is a separate fiscal entity and is established to conduct specific activities and objectives in accordance with statutes, laws, regulations, and restrictions or for specific purposes. A fund is defined in GASB Codification Section 1300 as a fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and other financial resources, together with all related liabilities and residual equities or balances, and changes therein, which are segregated for the purpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives in accordance with special regulations, restrictions, or limitations. Statement 34 modified the structure of two categories of funds used by local governmental entities. Specifically, the new reporting model introduces two new types of funds:
With the incorporation of these changes, three categories of funds remain:
Major Funds GASB defines major funds as those meeting the following criteria:
It should be noted that in applying the major fund criteria to enterprise funds, the reporting entity should consider both operating and nonoperating revenues and expenses, as well as gains, losses, capital contributions, additions to permanent endowments, and special items. When the major fund criteria are applied to governmental funds, revenues do not include other financing sources and expenditures do not include other financing uses. However, special items would be included. [back to top] Internal Control Structure An integral part of proper accounting procedures rests in issues of controls and begins with internal accountability structures. The AICPA's Statement on Auditing Standards No. 78, Consideration of Internal Control in a Financial Statement Audit: An Amendment to Statement on Auditing Standards No. 55, (which incorporates the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations Report, Internal Control Framework) indicates that the elaborateness of the system of internal controls established within an organization is a matter of judgment on the part of management, with careful consideration for circumstances, such as the size of the organization and the number of personnel available, and the relationship between the costs and benefits of designing and implementing controls. In addition, the nature of internal control is such that even appropriate methods and systems will not guarantee that an entity's objectives will be achieved. Internal control is a process-affected by an entity's board of trustees, management, and other personnel-designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following categories:
The control environment is established on the basis of the attitude of management toward internal control. It is the basis for all other elements of the system of internal control. AICPA Statement on Auditing Standards No. 78 states that the control environment "sets the tone of an organization, influencing the control consciousness of its people. It is the foundation for all other components of internal control, providing discipline and structure." As such, a management philosophy that is dedicated to establishing a sound business process and operating controls would tend to create a stronger internal control environment than a philosophy that is unaware of or unconcerned with internal controls. The collective effort of various factors affects the control environment, including the following:
Risk Assessment
Control Activities
Information and Communication
Monitoring Management should clearly assign responsibility and delegate authority with sufficient care to ensure that
Common Types of Control Procedures Access Controls In some cases, unauthorized access to assets may be gained through vulnerable accounting records-especially records maintained on computer systems. For example, if warehouse requisitions can be issued through a computer terminal, access to inventory may be gained through the system. Controls over unauthorized access to assets through computer records may be physical (e.g., terminals are kept in a locked room) or logical (e.g., access to the computer program or data files may be obtained only with the proper password or other user-identification method). Monitoring the control procedures that address unauthorized access includes observing physical control procedures, reviewing established access privileges with the manager of information systems, or reviewing reports of attempted computer access violations. Internal auditors often perform such activities. Access controls, however, do not prevent individuals who have authorized access to assets from misappropriating them. Individuals who have authorized access to both assets and related accounting records may be in a position to conceal shortages of assets in the records. However, if duties are properly segregated, persons with access to assets will not have access to related accounting records, which may be altered to conceal shortages. Controls over authorized access to assets are important to an organization, not only to prevent thefts, but also to ensure that assets are committed only after proper consideration by individuals who are knowledgeable and experienced. Authorization and approval are types of controls designed to prevent invalid or inappropriate transactions from occurring. An example is a procedure designed to ensure that disbursements are made only when authorized orders for goods and services have been received. In many systems, access to computerized records (e.g., shipping requests) can result in improper access to assets; therefore, procedures must be designed to limit access to computerized records. Reconciliation and Comparison of Assets with Records Analytical Reviews Authorization and Approval Reviews of Output Transactional Reviews General Computer Controls
In the final analysis, maintaining the internal control environment and related control procedures is an integral part of management's responsibilities. In the context of governmental accounting and reporting, the control environment has a direct impact on an entity's ability to collect and present accurate financial information. Thus, the internal control environment and related procedures are key areas of concern to an entity's external auditor. [back to top] Other Issues Affecting Educational Entities School districts are the most common special governmental units. In some states, school districts operate as a fiscally dependent part of another local governmental entity such as a city or county; in other states, school districts are legislatively independent with authority to levy taxes and set budgets. School districts may or may not have common boundaries with another political subdivision. Regardless of whether districts are component units of another financial reporting entity, are joint ventures of several reporting entities (such as consolidated educational agencies), or meet the definition in GASB Codification, Section 2100 as separate reporting entities, many school districts prepare separate financial statements to accomplish one or more of the following:
[back to top] Footnote 1 Codification of Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting Standards, section 1100.110. |