By now you are probably familiar with Rita Crundwell, the City Comptroller who embezzled more than $53 million over a 20-year period. If not, click here. That story seems to still get a lot of attention as it is shocking how she was able to get away with so much for so long; however, there …
Why is government so slow? Have you ever been asked this question by those your government entity serves? Maybe someone has asked this via email or commented on your social media account. Thanks to how connected we are, governments and their constituents are able to interact more than ever. The digital age also allows us …
In the beginning there was capitalized interest, and some found it was good. Then, GASB decided to shed some light on this topic – now, capitalizing interest is just a thing of the past. While governmental activities generally don’t incur capitalized interest on projects in the construction phase, business-type activities were permitted to do so, …
The Journal of Accountancy is a great resource for all things accounting. From fraud schemes to new accounting standards to the latest technology, the Journal covers it all. They also regularly have quizzes you can take to test your knowledge and skills for various areas. Recently, I came across a quiz they created for “Best …
In 2018, Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) §15-213 was amended by law to limit audit contracts for school districts to a maximum of three years. A school district may not hire the same auditor or auditing firm for more than three consecutive years. Prior to this change, there were no limitations on the number of consecutive …
Government employers need to be aware of two rate increases this year. One is the standard mileage rate set by the IRS and the other is the minimum wage rate set by Arizona voters. Standard mileage rate Every year, the IRS establishes a standard mileage rate and this year is no different. Many government entities …
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 …
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.
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