Homework
For the fourth homework in this semester, we are going to consider public budgeting from the point of accountability. This is generally manifest in the municipal organization's annual audit documents, popularly known as CAFR in most communities (Comprehensive Annual Financial Report). Before beginning this homework, be sure to read Chapter 10, the associated lecture, and review the two CAFR documents contained within the "Short Reading - Chapter 10" folder.
Once you have read the chapter on auditing, reviewed the lecture and the example CAFR documents, proceed as follows:
1) Identify a local community that you will refer to in this homework; preferably your own, but it can be any local community if your community doesn't maintain adequate transparency & documentation online. Provide a link to the community's website if applicable.
2) Does that community complete an annual CAFR? Do they publish it online? Is it available for multiple years?
3) How does the CAFR documents issued by your community compare to the example documents? Are they more comprehensive? Less? Easier or harder to understand?
4) What were the results of the community's latest audit? Was the audit "clean", meaning no findings, or only insignificant findings? Were major problems uncovered? Were problems from previous years addressed, if they existed at all?
5) How easy was it/would it be to understand your community's CAFR as an average interested citizen? Could someone without much education understand what was accomplished with the CAFR?
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
(1) The answer should be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides.
(2) The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
(3) Also include a reference page. The Citations and references should follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.