Analysis Of A Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Cafrii

Analysis Of A Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Cafrii

Congratulations! You just landed your dream job as a staff accountant at Baker, Lombard, & Sweeting Accounting, LLC in the Government Accounting Department. It is your first day on the job; you are nervous but excited.

After you get settled at your desk, your new boss, Simone (the professor) calls you in to her office to discuss a project she would like you to complete. You approach Simone’s office and she invites you to come and sit down. After exchanging some pleasantries, Simone asks how familiar you are with Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR) for state and local governments. You inform Simone that you studied CAFRs during your graduate degree at UMCG and feel pretty confident in your understanding. Great, she says, “I would like you to prepare a CAFR Analysis Report for a client.

I will email you the specifics; after you review the information I send, please let me know if you have any questions. You hurry back to your office and wait for the email to come through so you can dive right in.

Analyze a specific CAFR of a selected government entity and prepare a detailed report covering:

  • The main sections of the report and their content.
  • An evaluation of the introductory section, including the presence of a certificate of achievement for financial reporting and the key issues addressed in the letter of transmittal.
  • The budget-to-actual comparisons of major funds and the accounting basis used for the annual operating budget, including whether actual amounts are reported on a GAAP or a budgetary basis.
  • The main sources of the government’s revenues from both governmental and business-type activities.
  • Classification of governmental expenditures and whether these classifications are consistent between government-wide and fund statements.
  • The types and reporting methods of assets in government-wide and fund financial statements.
  • The types and reporting methods of liabilities in government-wide and fund financial statements.
  • Your assessment of the readability and clarity of the CAFR, along with recommendations for improvement.

Prepare a comprehensive analysis report in your own words, incorporating critical thinking, analysis, and explanations suited for presenting to executive management or a governing board. The report should include a cover page with your name and title, and a bibliography citing all sources. The length should be at least five double-spaced pages, excluding the cover page and bibliography, with proper APA formatting.

Paper For Above instruction

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References

  • Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). (2021). Best Practices in CAFR Preparation. GFOA Publications.
  • Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB). (2022). Statement No. 34: Basic Financial Statements—and Management’s Discussion and Analysis—for State and Local Governments. GASB.
  • Harrington, S., & Sharpe, N. (2019). Financial Management in Local Governments. Routledge.
  • Jeppesen, K., & Lin, S. (2020). "Analyzing CAFRs for Strategic Municipal Financial Decision-Making," Journal of Public Budgeting, Accounting & Financial Management, 32(3), 385-410.
  • U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2018). Financial Audit Manual. GAO Publications.
  • Hodge, J. (2017). Understanding Government Financial Statements. Government Finance Officers Association.
  • Adhikari, P. (2016). "Governmental Financial Reporting and Accountability," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 29(4), 515–532.
  • Brady, K., & Wurst, B. (2020). Managing Public Sector Finances. Sage Publications.
  • Lee, T., & Johnson, M. (2019). "Qualitative Analysis of CAFRs: Transparency and Public Trust," International Journal of Public Sector Management, 32(7), 849-865.
  • Williams, R. (2018). Accounting and Financial Management for Local Governments. McGraw-Hill Education.

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