Wiley GAAP for Governments 2015 : Interpretation and Application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for State and Local Governments

695 Pages·2015·4.09 MB·English

by  Ruppel

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GAAP
for
Governments
2015
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GAAP
for

Governments
2015
Interpretation and Application of
GENERALLY ACCEPTED
ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES
for State and Local Governments
Warren Ruppel
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This edition first published 2015
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ISBN 978-1-118-97990-7 (pbk) ISBN 978-1-118-97992-1 (ebk)
ISBN 978-1-118-97993-8 (ebk) ISBN 978-1-118-97994-5 (ebk)
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CONTENTS
Preface vii
About the Author ix
1 New Developments 1
2 Foundations of Governmental Accounting 17
3 Fund Accounting Fundamentals 43
4 General Fund and Special Revenue Funds 65
5 Capital Projects Funds 77
6 Debt Service Funds 91
7 Proprietary Funds 101
8 Fiduciary Funds 117
9 Financial Statements Prepared by Governments 123
10 The Importance of Budgets to Governments 197
11 Definition of the Reporting Entity 211
12 Cash and Investments—Valuation and Disclosures 265
13 Derivative Instruments 291
14 Capital Assets 321
15 Debt and Other Obligations 351
16 Landfill Closure and Postclosure Care Costs 397
17 Postemployment Benefits—Pension and Other 407
18 Compensated Absences 459
19 Accounting for Leases 471
20 Nonexchange Transactions 495
21 Risk Financing and Insurance-Related
Activities/Public Entity Risk Pools 513
22 Pension and OPEB Plan Financial Statements 543
23 Educational and Other Governmental Entities 613
Appendix: Disclosure Checklist 629
Index 663
v

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PREFACE
Governmental accounting is a specialized area that has undergone significant changes over the
past few decades. As governmental accounting standards have developed, the com plexities of pre-
paring financial statements for governmental entities have greatly increased. Providing meaningful
financial information to a wide range of users is not an easy task. Adding to these challenges, the
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) brought sweeping changes to the governmental
financial reporting model and is now continuing the process of addressing many important account-
ing areas related to that model.
Given this rapidly changing environment, the financial statement preparer needs a technical
resource that provides more than accurate, competent technical information. The resource needs to
be written to fit today’s governmental accounting environment. It needs to take a fresh look at some of
the long-standing accounting questions faced by governments and to provide meaningful up-to-date
information on recently issued and soon-to-be-issued accounting pronouncements.
The purpose of this book is to meet these needs by providing a useful, complete, and practical
guide to governmental accounting principles and financial reporting. Throughout, the book will pro-
vide the reader with:
(cid:114)(cid:1) An understanding of the concepts and theories underlying each topic discussed
(cid:114)(cid:1) A complete, authoritative reference source to assure the reader that all aspects of a particular
topic are covered
(cid:114)(cid:1) Practical guidance to allow financial statement preparers and auditors to meet the require-
ments of generally accepted accounting principles for governments and to efficiently and
effectively implement new requirements.
The approach used in this book is to provide the reader with useful information in a usable for-
mat. Accounting theory must correspond with practical examples to be useful, because theory seldom
matches the specific situation. For technical information to be usable, it must be clearly presented
without clutter and unnecessary repetition. The substance of accounting requirements must also be
understood in order for them to be properly applied. Understanding the reasons why technical
requirements exist is an important ingredient in properly applying accounting standards.
The 2015 edition of this book begins with an overview of governmental accounting principles and
a description of the various types of funds currently in use by governmental entities. It then describes
basic financial statements and provides guidance for reporting various assets, liabilities, revenues and
expenses/expenditures. Finally, it examines the accounting and financial reporting requirements for
several specific types of governmental entities. The book also includes a “Disclosure Checklist,” which
should prove very helpful in determining the completeness of a governmental entity’s financial state-
ment disclosures.
This book would not have come to fruition without the hard work and perseverance of a
number of individuals. John DeRemigis of John Wiley & Sons had the confidence to work with me
in developing the original concept for the book and in ensuring its continuing quality and success.
Pam Reh’s efforts in producing past editions of the book are greatly appreciated.
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Of course, the time and effort needed to write and maintain this book would not be possible
without a supportive family, for which I am grateful to my wife Marie, and my sons Christopher and
Gregory.
Warren Ruppel, CPA
Woodcliff Lake, NJ
August 2014
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