Governmental Accounting Made Easy (eBook)

WARREN RUPPEL, CPA, is the author of four Wiley accounting publications, including Wiley GAAP for Governments. He is a partner in the Nonprofit and Government Services Group of Marks Paneth & Shron LLP in New York. He began his career at KPMG in 1979 and joined Deloitte & Touche in 1989 to specialize in audits of not-for-profit organizations and governments. Mr. Ruppel has served as the chief financial officer of an international not-for-profit organization and as the Assistant Comptroller for Accounting of The City of New York, where he was responsible for all aspects of the City's accounting and financial reporting.

Preface ix

Chapter 1 Introduction and Background 1

What Are Generally Accepted Accounting Principles? 1

Who Sets Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for Governments? 5

Do Governments Need to Comply with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles? 9

Why Is Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting Different from Commercial and Not-for-Profit Accounting and Financial Reporting? 10

To What Entities Do Governmental Generally Accepted Accounting Principles Apply? 15

Chapter 2 Basic Governmental Accounting Concepts 19

Understanding the Different Bases of Accounting 20

Understanding What Measurement Focuses Are Used by Governments 26

Defining and Understanding the Nature of Assets 29

Defining and Understanding the Nature of Liabilities 43

Defining and Understanding the Nature of Net Assets 49

Chapter 3 Understanding Fund Accounting 55

Fund Fundamentals 56

Governmental Funds 58

Proprietary Funds 75

Fiduciary Funds 82

Chapter 4 Basics of Governmental Financial Statements 89

General-Purpose Financial Statements 90

Management's Discussion and Analysis 90

The Basic Financial Statements 94

Required Supplementary Information 137

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report 139

Chapter 5 Understanding the Reporting Entity 147

Background 148

Accountability Focus 149

Financial Reporting Entity Defined 150

Display of Component Units 161

Chapter 6 Revenues from Nonexchange Transactions 169

Classes of Nonexchange Transactions 170

Accounting Requirements 172

Property Taxes 175

Income and Sales Taxes, and Other Derived Tax Revenues 177

Adjustments for the Accrual Basis of Accounting 180

Grants and Other Financial Assistance 182

Chapter 7 Capital Assets 187

Where Are Capital Assets Recorded in the Financial Statements? 188

Recording and Valuing Capital Assets 189

Understanding Depreciation 193

Using the Modified Approach in Lieu of Depreciating Infrastructure Assets 197

The Basics of Capitalized Interest 200

Capital Assets Resulting from Capital Lease Transactions 206

Intangible Assets 215

Impairments of Capital Assets 217

Chapter 8 Accounting for Pensions and Other Postemployment Benefits 225

Requirements for Defined Benefit Pension and OPEB Plans 229

Calculation of the ARC 232

Parameters for Actuarial Calculations, Including the ARC 233

Net Pension or OPEB Obligation 242

Recording Pension- and OPEB-Related Assets, Liabilities, and Expenditures/Expenses 243

Pension and OPEB Disclosures 245

Employers with Defined Contribution Plans 246

Chapter 9 Sundry Accounting Topics 249

Accounting for Investments 249

Reporting Unrealized Gains or Losses 252

Investment and Deposit Disclosures 253

Compensated Absence Accruals 255

Landfill Closure and Postclosure Care Costs 262

Derivatives, Including Interest Rate Swaps 269

Securities Lending Transactions 281

Chapter 10 Upcoming Developments in Governmental Accounting 287

Pension (and OPEB) Accounting--Revisited 288

Index 293