GASB white paper

《GASB white paper》由会员上传分享，免费在线阅读，更多相关内容在学术论文-天天文库。

1、WHYGOVERNMENTALACCOUNTINGANDFINANCIALREPORTINGIS—ANDSHOULDBE—DIFFERENTExecutiveSummaryGovernmentsarefundamentallydifferentfromfor-profitbusinessenterprisesinseveralimportantways.Theyhavedifferentpurposes,processesofgeneratingrevenues,stakeholders,budgeta

2、ryobligations,andpropensityforlongevity.Thesedifferencesrequireseparateaccountingandfinancialreportingstandardsinordertoprovideinformationtomeettheneedsofstakeholderstoassessgovernmentaccountabilityandtomakepolitical,social,andeconomicdecisions.Althoughs

3、tateandlocalgovernmentsintheUnitedStateshavehadseparatestandardsforover100years,occasionallythequestionisraised:Whycan’tgeneralpurposegovernments(citiesandcounties,forexample)simplyapplythestandardsestablishedforbusinessenterprises?1Thefollowingquestions

4、andanswersbrieflyaddressthatissue,andtheaccompanyingpaperanditsappendixesprovideanexpandeddiscussion.WhyAreSeparateAccountingandFinancialReportingStandardsEssentialforGovernments?Separateaccountingandfinancialreportingstandardsareessentialbecausetheneeds

5、ofusersoffinancialreportsofgovernmentsandbusinessenterprisesdiffer.Duetotheiruniqueoperatingenvironment,governmentshavearesponsibilitytobeaccountablefortheuseofresourcesthatissignificantlydifferentfrombusinessenterprises.Althoughbusinessesreceiverevenues

6、fromavoluntaryexchangebetweenawillingbuyerandseller,governmentsobtainresourcesprimarilyfromtheinvoluntarypaymentoftaxes.Taxespaidbyanindividualtaxpayeroftenbearlittledirectrelationshiptotheservicesreceivedbythattaxpayer.Overall,taxpayerscollectivelyfocus

7、onassessingthevaluereceivedfromtheresourcestheyprovidetogovernment.Governmentalaccountingandfinancialreportingstandardsaimtoaddressthisneedforpublicaccountabilityinformationbyhelpingstakeholdersassesshowpublicresourcesareacquiredandused,whether1Thetermbu

8、sinessenterpriseisusedtorefertoprivate-sectorentitiesorganizedforthepurposeofearningprofit.BusinessenterprisesintheUnitedStatesapplyaccountingpronouncementsoftheFinancialAccountingStandardsBoard.Businessenterprisedoesnotre