Assignment:
Most of your average governmental entities engage in three broad categories of activities/funds:
1. Governmental activities - stuff financed mostly with taxes and intergovernmental grants; these correlate with governmental funds. There are five types of these:
a. General fund - resources not restricted.
b. Special revenue funds - restricted purpose.
c. Debt service funds - payment of principal and interest.
d. Capital projects funds - for things like buildings and highways.
e. Permanent funds - corpus locked, only earnings expendable.
2. Business-type activities - stuff financed mostly with user fees; these correlate with proprietary funds. There are two types:
a. Enterprise funds - for business type activities.
b. Internal service funds - for stuff provided to different departments within the government.
3. Fiduciary activities - where the government acts as a trustee or agent for someone or something else; these correlate with fiduciary funds. There are two types:
a. Trust funds - pension trusts, investment trusts, private purpose trusts (like for an escheat fund).
b. Agency funds - For resources held for another agency on a short-term basis.
And we all know the purpose of accounting in any sector is accountability (accounting/accountability).
1. There are two types of accountability that the GASB talks about - what are they and what is a brief definition?
2. Which concept applies to which of the three types of activities from the previous question?
3. Based on the preceding answer, what type of accounting does each of these use?
4. Each of those three activities requires three different sets of financial statements. What are the basic statements required for each?
When listing these, please note what the for-profit equivalent is to help you with a frame of reference.
5. What is deferred revenue and how is treated depending on the type of fund reporting?
6. What is the difference between a financial statement that combines funds with one that consolidates them?
7. What are major funds and in what key ways are major funds reported differently then nonmajor funds?
8. Look at cook county, IL CAFR and tell us on what type of activities/funds your government entity reports. What type of revenues and expenses are in each?