Governmental Accounting

Question 1

Has the authority to establish standards of financial reporting for all units of state and local governments–

Answer 1

Governmental Accounting Standards Board

Question 2

Issued by GASB and set forth fundamentals on which governmental accounting and reporting will be based, but aren’t standards themsevles

Answer 2

GASB Concept Statments

Question 3

Reporting with the objective of providing mroe complete information than can be provided bytraditional finncial statemetns and schedules–measures:

1) service effort
2) service accomplishments
3) measures that relatedto service efforts to service accomlishment
4) narrative or explantory information

Answer 3

Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting (SEA)–cosndiered necessary for accountability and making informed decisions

Question 4

Measures how effectively and efficiently the government has been using its resources, and the rsources availble to meet its future obligations

Answer 4

Operational accountability

Question 5

measures a government’s compliance with laws and regulations affectin its spending activities

Answer 5

Fiscal accountability

Question 6

This approach to acouting refers to the fact that government financial statemetns show operational AND fiscal accoutnability, and the relationship between the two and requires a reconciliation b/t the government-wide and fund FS

Answer 6

Integrated approach

Question 7

A legally separate organization for which the elected officials of a primary government are financially accountable–discretely presented or blended

Answer 7

Component unit

Question 8

A state government, a general purpose local governemnt, or a special-purpose local government that has a separately elected governing body, is legally separte, and is fiscally indepndent of other state or local governments

Answer 8

Primary government

Question 9

A complete annual report for a state or local government, consisting of an introductory, financial, and statistical section

Answer 9

Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR)

Question 10

Provides in plain terms an overview of the government’s financial activities–with the purose of providing a comparison of the current year resutls with the results of the prior year–considered to be RSI

Answer 10

MD&A

Question 11

Financial statements that are prepared on the economic resources measurement focus and accrual basis of accounting–includes all activities of fthe primary government (except fiduciary activieis aand discretely presented component units)
Includes:
-Statement of Net Position
-Statement of Activities

Answer 11

Government-wide financial statements

Question 12

Activities htat are financied primarily through taxes and other nonexchange transactiosn

Answer 12

Governmental activities

Question 13

Activities that are normally financed through user charges

Answer 13

Business-type activities

Question 14

Part of government-wide FS that reports revenues and expenses on the full accrual basis in a consolidated statemetn (except interfund transactiosn are not eliminited)

Answer 14

Consoidated statement

Question 15

Transactions that involve the transfer of goods or services for payment of (approx) equal value

Answer 15

Exchange revenues

Question 16

Transactiosn in which a goivernment gives or receives value without providing equal value in return (ex. property taxes, income taxes, etc.)

Answer 16

Nonexchange revenues

Question 17

A category on the government-wide Statemnt of Activities that incluudes events within the control of management that are either unsual in nature OR infrequent in occurrence (ex. gain on the sale of land)

Answer 17

Special items

Question 18

A fiscal and accounting entity with a self-balancing set of accounts recording cash and other finaicl resources, together with all related laibities and residual equities and balances and changes hterein, which are segregated for th epurpose of carrying on specific activities or attaining certain objectives in accordance with sepcial regulations, restrictions, or limitations

Answer 18

Fund

Question 19

Accounts for hte current financial resources reaised and expended to carry out general government purposes; includes the general fund, special revenue, debt service, capital projects, and permanent funds

Answer 19

Governmental funds

Question 20

A governmental fund that accounts for all financial resources except those required to be accounted for in another fund

Answer 20

Gneral fund

Question 21

Governmental fund that accounts for specific revenues that are restricted or committed to expenditures for specific current purposes other than debt service or capital projects

Answer 21

Special revenue funds

Question 22

Governmental fund that accounts for financial resources that are restricted, committed, or assigned to expenditures for acquistiion or contstruction of capital assets

Answer 22

Capital projects fund

Question 23

Governmental fund that accounts for resourcesthat are restricted, committed, or assigned to expenditures for the payment of general long-term debt principal and itnerest

Answer 23

Debt service fund

Question 24

Governmental fund that accounts for resources that are restrictedto teh extent that only earnings and not principal may be used to support specified government programs

Answer 24

Permanent fund

Question 25

Accounts for a government's business-type activities--includes internal service funds and enterprise funds

Answer 25

Proprietary fund

Question 26

Proprietary fund that accounts for activities that involve providing goods or services to external users for a fee

Answer 26

Enterprise fund

Question 27

Proprietary fund that accoutns for activities that provide goods or services to toher funds of hte primary government on a cost-reimbursement basis

Answer 27

Internal services fund

Question 28

Accounts for resources held and used bygovernments for hte benefit of individuals and entities other than the government--include agency, pension, investment and private-purose funds

Answer 28

Fiduciary funds

Question 29

Fiduciary fund that accounts for resources held by the reporting govenrment in a purely custodial capacity

Answer 29

Agency fund

Question 30

Fiduciary fund that reports the external portions of investment pools when the rporting government is hte trustee

Answer 30

Investment trust fund

Question 31

Fiduciary fund that accounts for funds held in trust for hte payment of employee retiremetn and other benefits

Answer 31

Pension and other employee benefit trust funds

Question 32

Fidcuiary fund that reports all trust arrangemetns where hte principal must remain intact and the income generated is ued to benefit individuals, private organizatiosn, and other governments

Answer 32

Private-purpose trust fund

Question 33

A fund balance classification that includes amounts that cannot be spent because they are eitehr: 1) not in spendable form 2) legally or contractually required to be maintained intact

Answer 33

Nonspendable

Question 34

A fund balance classification that includes amounts that cannot be used except for a specific purpose and should be reported as this when constraints placed upon the resources are either externally imposed by creditors, etc. or imposed by law

Answer 34

Restricted

Question 35

A fund balance classification that includes amounts that can only be used for specific purposes pursuant to constraints impsed by formal action of the government's highest level of decision-making authority

Answer 35

Committed

Question 36

A fund balance classifcation that includes amounts that are cosntrained by the government's INTENT to be used fro specific purposes but are neither estricted not committed --intent must have been expressed by someone with the authority to do so

Answer 36

Assigned

Question 37

A fund balance classfication that includes anything that has not been assigned, restricted, or committed

Answer 37

Unassigned

Question 38

The objective of this measurement focus and basis of accounting is to easure all of hte eeconomic resources available to the governmental entity, includingfixed assets, and subtracting long-term debt and recognized reveneus when earned and expenses when incurred

Answer 38

Economic resources measurement focus and accrual basis of acccounting

Question 39

The measurement focus and basis of accounting used in governmental fund financial statemetns in which revenues are recognized when measureableand availble to finance expendibtures of hte current period

Answer 39

Current financial resources measrement focus and modified accrual basis of accounting

Question 40

A nonexchange transactioon that results from taxes asssessed by governments on exchange transactions (ex. sales taxes, income taxes, moter fuel taxes)--receivables/revenues recognized wehn underlying transaction takes place

Answer 40

Derived tax revenues

Question 41

A nonexchange trnasaction that is taxes and other assessments by governments that are not derived from underlying transactions (ex. property taxes, special assessments, fines)--revs recognized in the period when the taxes were levied

Answer 41

Imposed nonexchange transactions

Question 42

A nonexchange transaction that exists when the providing government (state/federal) requires the receiving government to expend funds for a specific purpose--receiving govenrments should recognize assets and revenues when all eligibitliy requirements have been met

Answer 42

Government-mandated nonexchange transaction

Question 43

A nonexchange transaction that includes grants and entitlements from one government to naother where the provding government does not impose specific requirements upon the receiving government--recognize when all eligibility requirements have been met

Answer 43

Voluntary nonexchange transactions

Question 44

Only intangible assets that qualify as this may be recognized as capital assets in the statemetn of net position

Answer 44

Identifiable

Question 45

A method used to evaluate the effectiveness of hedge by qualitatively evaluating the terms of the hedgable item and the potential hedging derviative instruemtn--if critical terms are similary, considred to be effective

Answer 45

Consisent critical terms method

Question 46

A method used to evalue the effectiveness of a hedge that combines the cash flow effects fo the hedgeable item with the potential hedging derivative instruemetn to see if they offset

Answer 46

Synthetic instrument method

Question 47

A method used to evaluate the effectiveness of a hedge by comparing changes in the fair vlaue of the hedgeable item with the potential hedgin derivative

Answer 47

Dollar-offset method

Question 48

A method used to evaluate the effectiveness of a hedge by examining the statistical relationship between the hedgeable item and potential heding derivative instrument

Answer 48

Regression analysis method

Question 49

An agreement between a government unit and an operator in which the government conveys to the operator hte right and obligation to provide public services ithrough the operations of a facility in exchange for consideration--fascility should be included on government's books as an asset

Answer 49

Service concession arrangement

Question 50

a specific local tax levied on private property to meet the cost of a public improvement that will result in an increase in the value of the property---ex. for street lighting or public sidewalk

Answer 50

Special assessment

Question 51

A multiple-employer defined benefit pension plan in which pension plan assets are pooled for investment purposes but separate accounts are maintained for each individual employer so that each employer's share of the pooled assets is legally available to pay the benefits of only its employees

Answer 51

Agent multiple-employer defined benefit pension plan (agent pension plan)

Question 52

A multiple-employer defined benefit pension plan in whicht he pension obligatiosn to he employeees of more than one emmployer are pooled and pension plan assets canbe used to pay the benefits of the employees of any employer that provides pensions through the pension plan--funds usually computed on a state-wide basis only

Answer 52

Cost-shari9ng multiple meployer defined benefit pension plan (cost-sharing pension plan)

Question 53

Early retirement incentives that a government provides to its employees that should be accrued and recognized as a liability/expense when the offer has been accepted by the mployees and the amount of laiility can be estimated

Answer 53

Voluntary termination benefits

Question 54

Early retirement benefits, such as severance pay, that should only be recognized when the plan has been approved and communicated to the mployees and the amount of liability can be estimated

Answer 54

Involuntary termination benefits

Question 55

A private purpose trust fund will be classified as this if the principal cannot be expended but income may be for some agreed-upon purpose; sometimes called an endowment

Answer 55

Nonexpendable

Question 56

Propety taken over by a government, usually state government, when the property is abandoned and the legal owners cannot be found--generally recorded in the governmental or properitary fund to which it ultimately goes

Answer 56

Escheat property

Question 57

Transactions made between funds in which one fund provides resources with a requirement for repayment ("due from" due to)

Answer 57

interfund loans and advances

Question 58

Nonreciprocal transfers between funds, where payment is not expected

Answer 58

Interfund transfers

Question 59

A non reciptrocal transfer between funds that is a repayment for expenditures/expenses to the fund that initially paid for them

Answer 59

Interfund reimbursements