I have attended several governmental conferences over the past few years and looked around the room and wondered where is the generation that will assume the finance responsibilities in 10 to 20 years. Governmental finance is a specialty and is not covered in detail at colleges and universities. You should be thinking outside the box …
It’s the holiday season – you’re busy, your staff is busy, life is full of interruptions, and for you December 31 ending governments out there, you’ve still got to close your books at year-end. There’s only so much time between your actual year-end, when your entity is really performing closing entries to begin your annual …
Single audits are designed to be a cost-effective way of determining whether federal grant money is being properly expended. It is up to the entity to establish and maintain a system of controls that will give reasonable assurance that the grant is being spent within the laws, regulations and specific conditions of the grant. If …
The way governments have reported their fiduciary activities has varied at times and sometimes, they are not reported at all. GASB Statement 84 aims to correct this as well as other items effecting the fiduciary accounting world. Now is the time for an evaluation of all your activities to determine whether this GASB statement will …
Netflix recently released a documentary called “All the Queen’s Horses.” It details the story of Rita Crundwell, the perpetrator of the largest case of municipal fraud in American history. As the City Comptroller and Treasurer for Dixon, Illinois, Rita Crundwell embezzled more than $53 million of public funds over a 20-year period. The stolen funds …
The Government Accounting Standards Board is always issuing new standards on a range of topics such as pensions, postemployment benefit plans, lease standards and more. With so many technically complex changes issued within a short time frame, it can be hard to keep up. Implementing changes can be a time-consuming process, especially for those with …
In the accounting profession, work can get busy. So much so, that many of us have probably caught ourselves saying, “I was so busy at work today, but feel like I got nothing done.” In general, one minute of focused time equals four and a half minutes of unfocused time, and while people can switch …
You may believe that phishing emails are a thing of the past and that no one falls for them. However, emails remain the number one way for scammers to infect your computer with viruses or ransomware and they have been getting more complex with their schemes. Spear phishing Typically, phishing emails can be easily identified …
There has been a lot of buzz in the past few months regarding the South Dakota vs. Wayfair, Inc. case. It’s important because state and local governments cannot enforce their sales tax laws on internet retail sales unless the retailer has a local physical presence. This is a precedent that was established in U.S. Court …
With technology and society ever growing and evolving, government entities are evolving and changing themselves. Reports from the AICPA’s Charted Global Management Accounting group discuss some of the key factors and challenges faced by governments who are considering or are in the process of moving to a more digital organization (Part I and Part II). …
The new revenue recognition standard takes effect for most private companies in 2019, but you can’t wait until then to learn about this. Download our new e-Book now.
Get the e-Book