The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) was established in 1984. The GASB develops and issues accounting standards for state and local governments. When the GASB was formed, the first standard issued (GASB Statement No.1) gave authoritative status to the in-force and currently effective National Council of Government Accounting (NCGA) pronouncements and the AICPA Industry Audit Guide. The GASB issued additional accounting and financial reporting standards for state and local governments from 1984 through 2014. As of December 31, 2014 the GASB codified all accounting and reporting standards for state and local governments currently effective as of that date. Additions or amendments to the standards are added to the Codification.

The current GASB accounting and reporting standards are codified and organized into five parts:



Part I — General Principles


Part II — Financial Reporting


Part III — Measurement


Part IV — Specific Balance Sheet and Operating Statement Items


Part V — Stand-Alone Reporting—Specialized Units and Activities



Parts I–III follow a textbook-type format and present topics of general interest in accounting and financial reporting. The organization of Parts I and II is based on the twelve basic principles of accounting and financial reporting established by the National Council of Government Accounting (NCGA Statement 1). Part III presents topics specific to measurement.

Parts IV and V follow an encyclopedia-type format and present topics of interest on specific balance sheet and operating statement items and specialized units and activities. Part IV addresses issues encountered in accounting and reporting by the governmental entity, and Part V addresses issues of stand-alone accounting and reporting by special-purpose governments, for example, by pension plans.

This course will focus on Parts I and II, the basic principles of accounting and financial reporting for state and local governments.

Upon completion of this course, you will be able to apply the general principles underlying the government accounting standards, demonstrate the basis of accounting used by governments and how fund accounting is used to report the difference programs and activities of the government. You will also be able to identify the financial statements, disclosures, and supplementary information typically reported in the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report. Sample statements are provided to enhance your knowledge of the relationships between the statements.

Course Publication Date: March 04, 2019

This course is available with NO ADDITIONAL FEE if you have an active self study membership or all access membership or can be purchased for $50.00!

Author: Delta CPE Course No: GACT-FINREP-40099 Recommended CPE: 5.00 Delivery Method: QAS Self Study Level of Knowledge: Overview Prerequisites: None Advanced Preparation: None Recommended Field of Study: Accounting (Governmental)

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