Government Accounting Standards Board’s (GASB) Statement No. 63, Financial Reporting of Deferred Outflows of Resources, Deferred Inflows of Resources, and Net Position, issued in June 2011, changed the structure of a government balance sheet. In March 2012, GASB quickly followed with Statement No. 65, Items Previously Reported as Assets and Liabilities, which amends the financial statement classification of certain items to now be included in the deferred inflows and outflows categories that changed the structure of the balance sheet in Statement 63. Despite differing effective dates of the pronouncements, we will address these changes, and encourage our clients to implement. Read More.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued for comment a proposal that will significantly change the current single audit requirements for federal grants. The AICPA’s Government Audit Quality Center (GAQC) issued Alert #211 on January 31, 2013, the purpose of which is to summarize the proposed changes. According to GAQC Alert #211, “OMB and the federal agencies have been talking for some time about how grant policies can be reformed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of federal programs, as well as to eliminate unnecessary and duplicative requirements and focus in on areas that emphasize achieving better outcomes. Read More.

The Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) celebrated their 40th anniversary by unveiling new branding and logos for the FAF, the FASB, and the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). According to their press release found here , FASB also launched a new revamped website designed to be more user friendly.

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) recently approved GASB Statement No. 70, Accounting and Financial Reporting for Nonexchange Financial Guarantees. The new standard gives accounting and financial reporting guidance to state or local governments that either offer nonexchange financial guarantees or receive guarantees on their obligations. Often, nonexchange financial guarantees are not cited in financial statements of the government guarantor or obligation issuer. This is because guarantees are usually extended without any payment in return. Financial guarantees, however, are perceived as potential claims on a government’s resources when it is the guarantor and a possible reduction of a government’s obligations. Read More.

A recent study conducted by Cherry Bekaert compared data aggregated from 200 government operational and financial leaders throughout the Southeast. The 2013 Cherry Bekaert Local Government Benchmarking Survey captured information on significant trends, timely issues and future concerns for government entities in a wide range of sizes, types and localities. Survey results showed a trend toward strengthening entities, while also displaying concern for continued recovery in coming years. Respondents show that, generally: Salaries are trending up, while staffing cuts are trending down Intergovernmental dependency is a here-and-now disclosure issue Social media is becoming more and more a part of everyday. Read More.