GASB Publishes Guide to Statement 44

The Governmental Accounting Standard Board has published a Guide to Implementation of GASB Statement 44 on the Statistical Section.
The guide was prepared to assist preparers and auditors of governmental financial statements as they implement the updated and expanded statistical section. The statistical section is the part of a state or local government's comprehensive annual financial report that presents trend information for the last 10 years about a government's financial results, major revenue sources, outstanding debt, economic and demographic indicators, and operating activities.

The guide contains over 120 questions and answers on aspects of Statement 44, including:

* Presenting newly required information, such as net assets, changes in net assets, fund balance and total outstanding debt.

* Identifying a government's most significant own-source revenue.

* Calculating total direct rates, debt ratios, overlapping debt, and debt limit information.

* Obtaining and reporting demographic and economic information.
* Selecting appropriate trend information about government employees, operating indicators and capital assets.

The Q&A is paired with more than 160 illustrations, including sample statistical sections, alternative formats, and optional schedules for nine types of governments.

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