GOVERNMENTAL ACCOUNTING,
AUDITING AND FINANCIAL
REPORTING
Larry Finney
JUNE, 2014
OVERVIEW
• Introduction
• Accounting Principles Generally Accepted
in the USA (GAAP)-governmental
• Reporting model
• Financial Reporting Entities
• Annual financial reporting
• Basic and Government-wide Financial
Statements
• CAFR
• Compliance
2
OVERVIEW
• Financial Audits
• Financial Audit Standards
• External Financial Audits
• The Single Audit
• The Auditor’s Reports
• Procurement “audit”
• Management letter/communication to
those charged with governance
3
INTRODUCTION
• Types of governments (2012 data-not
including territories)
• 1 federal
• 50 states
• 3,031 counties
• 12,880 school districts
• 35,879 municipalities
• 38,266 special purpose districts
• 90,107 in total
4
INTRODUCTION
• Types of governments in SC (2012
data)
• 1 state
• 46 counties
• 83 school districts
• 270 municipalities
• 279 special purpose districts
• 679 in total
5
INTRODUCTION
• Government employment (2012 data)
Government
# employees
Annual payroll
Federal
2.8 million
$16.9 billion
States (nationally)
4.3 million
$20.2 billion
78 thousand
$291.6 million
11.9 million
$50.8 billion
180 thousand
$621 million
State-SC
Local (nationally)
Local-SC
6
INTRODUCTION
• Government finance (2005-06 in thousands)
State and local State and local
(nationally)
(SC)
Revenues
$2,739,938,115
$34,676,115
Expenditures
$2,507,378,945
$34,234,040
Debt outstanding
$2,200,892,115
$32,158,974
Cash/investments
$4,790,640,089
$50,763,744
Cash unrestricted
25%
33%
7
INTRODUCTION
• Key concepts
• Risk versus reward
• Reliable-timeliness, accuracy,
completeness, propriety, materiality
• Financial information
analysis
decisions/actions
8
INTRODUCTION
• Key concepts
• Event/decision = financial consequence
9
INTRODUCTION
• Key concepts
• Fiscal Accountability-”responsibility of
governments to justify that their actions in
the current period have complied with
public decisions concerning the raising and
spending of money in the short term (one
year or one budget cycle).”
10
INTRODUCTION
• Key concepts
• Operational Accountability”governments responsibility to report the
extent to which they have met their
operational objectives efficiently and
effectively, using all resources available
for that purpose, and whether they can
continue to meet their objectives for the
foreseeable future.”
11
INTRODUCTION
• Goal of any organization
• Maximize value to stakeholders
• Governments-provide required services to
users as efficiently and effectively as possible
in order to minimize resources needed
• Private sector-increase value of stock or
business for long-term
• Who are stakeholders in government?
12
THE BEGINNING
• What was the profession of the man
who first developed double-entry
bookkeeping?
13
THE BEGINNING
• Accounting Principles Generally
Accepted in the USA (GAAP)
• Minimum standards
• MFOA…GFOA
• MFOA sponsored the NCMA…NCGA…GASB
• FAF oversees FASB and GASB
• Independent
14
GAAP
• GASB
• 7 members
• Only chairperson is full-time
• Aided by GASAC (Governmental
Accounting Standards Advisory Council)
• Consultative body of many groups
• GFOA, AICPA….
• Only takes majority vote to establish
standards
15
GAAP
• GASB
• Jurisdiction over state and local governments and
other entities that meet at least one of:
• Officers are popularly elected
• Controlling majority of members is appointed by officials
of at least one state or local government
• Government can dissolve the entity and net assets go
back to that government
• Has power to enact and enforce a tax levy
• Has ability to directly issue federally tax exempt debt
16
GAAP
• Hierarchy-Established by SAS 69
Authority
Level
GASB
AICPA/Other
Level 1
Statements/interpretations
Level 2
Technical bulletins
Audit guides, SOPs
(cleared by GASB)
Level 3
EITF consensus positions
Practice bulletins
Level 4
Implementation guides
Audit guides, SOPs (not
cleared), prevalent pract.
Level 5
Concepts Statements
FASB, textbooks…
17
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Fund Accounting and Reporting
• fiscal responsibility
• Government-wide financial reporting
• operational accountability
18
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Funds
• fiscal and accounting “entity”
• self-balancing set of accounts
• records cash and other financial resources,
related liabilities and equities/balances
• and changes (revenues and expenditures)
• segregated for the purpose of carrying on
specific activities or attaining certain objectives
in accordance with special regulations,
restrictions or limitations
19
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Funds
• How many funds can you have?
• Only minimum number necessary
• Guidance
• Required by law
• Sound financial administration
• Accounting fund versus financial reporting fund
20
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Funds
• Governmental
•
•
•
•
•
General
Special revenue
Debt service
Capital projects
Permanent
• Proprietary
• Enterprise
• Internal service
• Fiduciary
•
•
•
•
Pension (and other employee benefit) trust
Investment trust
Private-purpose trust
Agency
21
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Measurement focus-describes the types of
transactions and events that are reported in
a fund’s operating statement
• Economic resources-what transactions or
events have increased or decreased the fund’s
total economic resources during the period
(change in net assets)?
• Current financial resources-what transactions
or events have increased or decreased the
resources available for spending in the near
future (may or may not change fund balance)?
22
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Measurement focus
• Governmental funds-current financial resources
• Proprietary and fiduciary funds-economic
resources
• Agency funds-no accounting for operations, so no
measurement focus
23
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Measurement focus
• Examples of differences
•
•
•
•
Debt issuance
Debt principal payments
Capital asset acquisition or construction
Many others
• Note: the long-term net effect is the same!
24
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Basis of accounting-the timing of recognition
of transactions and events
• Tied to a fund’s measurement focus
• Full accrual-recognize increases and decreases
in economic resources as soon as the underlying
transaction or event occurs
• Revenues recognized as soon as they are earned
• Expenses recognized as soon as a liability is incurred
• The timing of the cash flows does not matter
25
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Basis of accounting-the timing of recognition
of transactions and events
• Tied to a fund’s measurement focus
• Modified accrual-recognize increases and
decreases in financial resources only to the
extent that they reflect near-term inflows or
outflows of cash
• Revenues recognized as soon as they are collectible to
pay liabilities of the current period; when they are
available to finance expenditures of the current period
• Expenditures recognized when they are to be liquidated
in the current period with available financial resources
• The timing of the cash flows does matter
26
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Basis of accounting-the timing of recognition
of transactions and events
• Governmental funds-modified accrual
• Proprietary and fiduciary funds-full accrual
27
FUND ACCOUNTING
• Basis of accounting-the timing of recognition
of transactions and events
• Examples of differences
•
•
•
•
Revenue recognition
Compensated absences
Long-term liabilities
Many others
• Note: the long-term net effect is the same!
28
FUND ACCOUNTING
• What is considered “available” or “collectible
within the current period or soon enough
thereafter to be used pay liabilities of the
current period”?
• There is some discretion, but it should be
consistent year to year and reasonable
• Should not be too rigid that it distorts normal
revenue patterns
• Usually see either 30 or 60 days
29
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Primary government
• State and general-purpose local
governments (county, municipality, and
most school districts)
30
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Primary government
• Special purpose if:
• Elected governing body
• Separate legal status
• Fiscal independence
• Budget
• Tax levy or setting of rates or charges
• Issuance of debt
31
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Component unit
• Legal separate entity that a primary
government must include in its financial
statements to be GAAP compliant
• Entity can only be component unit of one
government
• Three tests-any one of following:
• Board appointment
• Fiscal dependence
• Nature and significance of relationship
32
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Component unit
• Board appointment-all three criteria
• Substance over form
• Appointed members must exercise operational
control (at least voting majority)
• Any one of following:
• Primary government impose its will
• Financial benefit through access to assets
• Financial burden-finance deficits or debt obligation
33
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Component unit
• Fiscal dependence
• Primary government board may arbitrarily
override the financial decisions of the other
entity regarding its
• Budget
• Tax levy or setting of rates or charges
• Issuance of bonded debt
34
Financial Reporting Entity-GASB #61
Fiscal Dependency
• GASB #61:
• Fiscal dependency
guidance
based
on
the
current
PLUS:
• Ongoing relationship of financial benefit or
burden also necessary:
• PG entitled to or can otherwise access resources.
• PG obligated to finance deficits or provide financial
support.
• PG obligated in some manner for debt.
35
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Component unit
• Nature/significance of relationship
• Omission of the second entity’s financial
statements from the primary government’s
would render the primary government’s
financial statements misleading
• GASB #61 clarified that the nature/significance
of the relationship is meant to be financial in
nature
36
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Component unit
• Blended vs. discretely presented
• Blended criteria:
• Shared governing body
• Substantially the same; voting majority of
component unit makes up voting majority of primary
government
• additionally requires that (1) the primary
government and the component unit have a financial
benefit or burden relationship or (2) management
(below the level of the elected officials) of the
primary government have operational responsibility
for the activities of the component unit
37
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Component unit
• Blended criteria:
• An obligation (other than secondary) to repay
a component unit’s debt entirely, or almost
entirely, from a resource stream of the primary
government.
• Exclusive or almost exclusive benefit to the
primary government
• Provides services/other almost entirely to primary
gov’t
• Otherwise should be discretely presented
38
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Component unit
• Presentation in financial statements
• If separately issued financials, explain how
to obtain in primary government notes
• Blended
• Funds become as those of primary gov’t
• General fund of component unit?
39
Financial Reporting Entity-GASB #61
Blending for Single-Column BT
Activities
• Two options:
• Consolidate the component unit data
into a single column presentation, while
including combining information in the
notes to the financial statements.
• Display the blended component unit as
a separate column and then provide a
combined primary government total
column.
40
FINANCIAL REPORTING ENTITY
• Component unit-Presentation in financial
statements
• Discretely presented-one of three ways
• Separate columns for major individual
component units with aggregate column for
nonmajor
• One single column for component units on
government wide statements and detail in
combining section
• Condensed financial statements included in
notes of primary government
41
GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL
REPORTING
• Financial statements
• Comprehensive annual financial report
(CAFR)
• Popular annual financial reports
42
GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL
REPORTING
STANDARD FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Basic Financial
Statements
Required
Supplementary
Information
Combining and
Individual Fund
Statements and
Schedules
Government-wide
Management’s
Financial statements discussion and
analysis
Depends on fund
types and funds
Fund financial
statements
Original and Final
Budget to Actual
Comparison
Other
Notes to the
financial statements
Other
43
GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL
REPORTING
• CAFR
• Add following to standard financial
statements
• Introductory section
• Statistical section
• CAFR checklist
44
GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL
REPORTING
• Popular Reports
• Voluntary
• Simple
• Highlights
• Creative
• If want to include auditor opinion, it must
be different opinion
45
Combining and individual fund
statements and schedules
• The first level-most detailed
• All fund types and all funds
• These are the financial statement and
schedule categories to which most of
the trial balance accounts are coded
• Governmental funds are modified
accrual
• Proprietary and fiduciary funds are full
accrual
46
Combining and individual fund
statements and schedules
• Balance sheets/Statements of net
assets
• Order of liquidity
• Unrestricted versus restricted
• Revenue and expenditure/expense
statements
• Operating versus non-operating
• Other financing sources
• Contributions
• Extraordinary and special items
47
Combining and individual fund
statements and schedules
• Revenue and expenditure/expense
statements
• Extraordinary Items are transactions or other
events that are both unusual in nature and
infrequent in occurrence.
• Special Items are significant transactions or other
events within the control of management that
are either unusual in nature or infrequent in
occurrence
48
Combining and individual fund
statements and schedules
• Budgetary comparison schedules for all
other governmental funds with legally
adopted annual budgets (other than
the general fund and major special
revenue funds)
• These statements and schedules
ultimately “roll up” to the basic
financial statements (so make sure
there are totals that tie to the BFS)
49
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Basic fund financial statements
• This is where Boards/Councils and Commissions
generally pay the most attention
• Still modified accrual for governmental and full
accrual for proprietary and fiduciary
• Separate statement for governmental versus
proprietary versus fiduciary
• Individual columns for major funds
• Non-major are combined into one column
• Internal service funds are combined into one
column
50
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Basic fund financial statements
• The balances should “roll up” from the
combining and individual fund statements
and schedules
51
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Budgetary Comparison Statements
• Original budget
• Final budget (after amendments)
• Actual
• Variance (optional unless CAFR)
52
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Budgetary Comparison Statements
required for
• General fund
• Major special revenue funds
• If budgetary basis is different from GAAP
• Show budget on budgetary basis
• Then reconcile to GAAP
53
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Reconciliations
• Moving from modified accrual to full accrual for
governmental funds
• Balance Sheet reconciles to the Statement of Net
Assets and the Statement of Revenues,
Expenditures and Changes in Fund Balances
reconciles to the Statement of Activities
• Generally no reconciliations for proprietary funds
• Every adjustment must be accounted for in the
reconciliation
54
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Reconciliations
• Explanations must accompany the
adjustment amounts
• Can provide detail on reconciliation or
• Can provide detail in notes
• Balance sheet amounts are cumulative
• Income statement amounts are for the
current year
55
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Reconciliations
• Balance sheet fund balances total to
statement of net assets total for net
assets
• Total of changes in fund balances from the
statement of revenues, expenditures and
changes in fund balances to governmental
activities’ changes in net assets from the
statement of activities
56
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Reconciliations
• Reconciling items represent adjustments
that must be made to individual trial
balance accounts in order to arrive at
government-wide financial statement
balances and amounts
57
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Government-wide financial statements
• Full accrual basis
• Statement of Net Assets
• Includes long-term assets (capital assets is
most common) and long-term obligations
(debt and compensated absences are the most
common)
• Statement of Activities
• Unique format
58
THE BASIC FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
• Notes to the basic financial statements
• Full accrual and modified accrual basis
• Disclosure checklists are key and must be
completed (we will review examples):
• Basic
• GFOA
• ASBO
• In addition to checklists, if an amount or
description is not clear in the statements,
consider disclosure
59
THE COMPLIANCE SECTION
• Required for governmental entity
whether must have single audit or not
• If single audit required:
• SEFA
• Two reports
• Prior year findings
• Schedule of findings and questioned costs
60
THE COMPLIANCE SECTION
• If single audit not required and no
federal expenditures:
• One report
• Prior year findings (if single audit in prior
year)
• Schedule of findings and questioned costs
61
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND
ANALYSIS
• “Management’s”
• Must have basic financial information
• Comparative (need to understand
reasons for significant increases and
decreases from the prior year)
• GASB 34 says only required
information-see handout
62
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND
ANALYSIS
• Who will read this?
• A lot of people will try to understand the
MD&A who won’t understand the financial
statements!
• So use this MD&A wisely
63
OTHER INFORMATION
• Title pages
• Names versus departments
• Which names to include?
• Table of contents
• Compare titles
• Check page numbers right before printing
• Certificate(s)
• Organization chart
64
OTHER INFORMATION
• Letter of transmittal
• GFOA provides guidance
• Should not be any duplication with MD&A
65
THE STATISTICAL SECTION
• Unaudited!
• Only needed if issue CAFR
• If issue early, probably have to get
statistics yourself
• If issue late, get help from a
government who has already issued
66
AUDITING STANDARDS
• Statements on Auditing Standards
(SASs)
• issued by the Auditing Standards Board
(ASB), the senior technical body of the
AICPA designated to issue
pronouncements on auditing matters
applicable to the preparation and issuance
of audit reports
67
AUDITING STANDARDS
• Auditing Standards Board
• Mission-Its mission is to serve the public
interest by developing, updating and
communicating comprehensive standards
and practice guidance that enable
practitioners to provide high-quality,
objective audit and attestation services to
nonissuers in an effective and efficient
manner.
68
AUDITING STANDARDS
• Auditing Standards Board
• 19 Members
• Most from public accounting, but some
from academia, Government Accounting
Office and other organizations
69
AUDITING STANDARDS
• SAS #1
• Responsibilities and functions
• Training and Proficiency
• Independence
• Due Professional Care
70
AUDITING STANDARDS
• SAS #1
• GAAP
• Consistency in applying GAAP
• Dating the report
• Using other auditors
71
AUDITING STANDARDS
• SAS
• SAS
• SAS
• SAS
• SAS
• SAS
• SAS
#12-Inquiry of lawyers
#25-Quality control standards
#32-Disclosures
#39-Audit sampling
#45-Related parties
#54-Illegal acts
#56-Analytical procedures
72
AUDITING STANDARDS
• SAS #58-Types of reports
• SAS #59-Going concern
• SAS #65-Internal auditors
• SAS #72-letters for underwriters
• SAS #84-communications between
successor and predecessor
auditors
73
AUDITING STANDARDS
• SAS #85-Management
representations
• SAS #95-The 10 General Standards
• SAS #99-Consideration of fraud
• SAS #101-Fair Value
• SAS #104/111-Risk, Audit
Evidence, Internal Controls
74
AUDITING STANDARDS
• SAS #114-Communication with
those charged with governance
• SAS #115-Communication of
internal control related matters
• SAS #117-Compliance matters
• SAS #119/120-Supplementary
information
• SAS #122/126-Finishes clarity
project
75
AUDITING STANDARDS-THE BIG 10
• General Standards
• 1. The auditor must have adequate technical
training and proficiency to perform the audit.
• 2. The auditor must maintain independence in
mental attitude in all matters relating to the
audit.
• 3. The auditor must exercise due professional
care in the performance of the audit and the
preparation of the report.
76
AUDITING STANDARDS-10 GENERAL
• Standards of Field Work
• 1. The auditor must adequately plan the work and must
properly supervise any assistants.
• 2. The auditor must obtain a sufficient understanding of the
entity and its environment, including its internal control, to
assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial
statements whether due to error or fraud, and to design the
nature, timing, and extent of further audit procedures.
• 3. The auditor must obtain sufficient appropriate audit
evidence by performing audit procedures to afford a
reasonable basis for an opinion regarding the financial
statements under audit.
77
AUDITING STANDARDS-10 GENERAL
• Standards of Reporting
• 1. The auditor must state in the auditor's report whether the
financial statements are presented in accordance with
generally accepted accounting principles.
• 2. The auditor must identify in the auditor's report those
circumstances in which such principles have not been
consistently observed in the current period in relation to the
preceding period.
• 3. When the auditor determines that informative disclosures
are not reasonably adequate, the auditor must so state in the
auditor's report.
78
AUDITING STANDARDS-10 GENERAL
• Standards of Reporting
• 4. The auditor must either express an opinion regarding the
financial statements, taken as a whole, or state that an opinion
cannot be expressed, in the auditor's report. When the auditor
cannot express an overall opinion, the auditor should state the
reasons therefor in the auditor's report. In all cases where an
auditor's name is associated with financial statements, the
auditor should clearly indicate the character of the auditor's
work, if any, and the degree of responsibility the auditor is
taking, in the auditor's report.
79
EXTERNAL AUDITS
• Background
• financial statements are representations
by management about financial
transactions
• With each representation management is
making certain assertions
80
EXTERNAL AUDITS
Management Assertion Framework
Classes of
Account
Presentation
Transactions
Balances
and Disclosures
Occurrence
Existence
Occurrence and
rights and obligations
Completeness
Rights and
Completeness
obligations
Accuracy
Completeness
Classification and
understandability
Cutoff
Classification
Valuation and
Accuracy and
allocation
valuation
81
EXTERNAL AUDITS
• Background
• The auditor’s role is to provide
reasonable assurance to financial
statements users so that they can
make decisions using these
statements because they are
materially correct
• We estimate materiality based on
what might cause a reader to make a
different decision-and that depends
on the user!
82
EXTERNAL AUDITS
• Background
• The auditor’s role is to provide
reasonable assurance to financial
statements users so that they can
make decisions using these
statements because they are
materially correct
• So what is material to you?
83
EXTERNAL AUDITS
• Background
• Therefore, the goal of the audit
process is to gather the evidence
necessary for the appropriate opinion
to be issued as to whether the
financial statements are materially
correct
• Direct evidence from substantive
procedures
• Indirect evidence from the testing of
controls
84
EXTERNAL AUDITS
• Background
• Primary direct evidence from
substantive procedures
• Review of supporting documentation
• Analytical review and inquiry
• Confirmation with third parties
• Verify with other information outside the
District
85
EXTERNAL AUDITS
• Audit risk is the risk that the
auditor may unknowingly fail to
appropriately modify the opinion
on financial statements that are
materially misstated (SAS 107)
86
EXTERNAL AUDITS
• Audit risk-issue unmodified opinion
when it should be modified
• Three events must occur:
• Material misstatements
• Employees, in the normal course of
their duties, fail to correct the
misstatements
• The auditor fails to detect the
misstatements
87
EXTERNAL AUDITS
THE AUDIT RISK MODEL
• AR= (CR x IR) x DR
(CR x IR)=RMM
•
•
•
•
AR=audit risk
CR=control risk (controlled by entity)
IR=inherent risk (controlled by entity)
DR=detection risk (controlled by auditor)
• Test of details risk and analytical procedures
risk
• RMM=risk of material misstatement
88
EXTERNAL AUDITS
• End result/product
• Opinion on financial statements
• Opinions for single audit
• Findings in compliance section
• Management letter
• Presentation to Board
89
SINGLE AUDIT
• Federal program compliance audits of
recipients of federal awards
• OMB Circular A-133 is primary
document (it references other
applicable circulars)
• If you pass awards through to other
entities-subrecipient monitoring
• Focus on expenditures, not revenues
90
EXTERNAL AUDITS-OPINION
• Let’s review:
• Standard audit opinion for a CAFR
• Compliance section
• Management letter
• Presentation to Board
91