NEWS RELEASE 07/26/12
New GASB Analyst Guide to Governmental Financial
Statements
Norwalk, CT, July 26, 2012—Analysts seeking to
better understand and navigate state and local governmental financial statements
now have a new and updated resource to help them. The Governmental Accounting
Standards Board (GASB) today published An Analysts’ Guide to Governmental
Financial Statements, 2nd edition, a comprehensive, easy-to-understand
primer for investment firms; rating agencies; institutional investors; mutual
funds; bond agencies; and legislative, oversight and research organizations that
need financial information about state and local government financial reports.
The guide is the third in a series of expanded, fully revised and
updated resources published this year by the GASB, the independent,
not-for-profit organization that sets accounting standards for the almost 90,000
local and state governments in the U.S.
The new version of An
Analyst’s Guide combines the first edition with What Else You Should
Know about Your Government’s Finances: A Guide to Notes to the Financial
Statements and Supporting Information. The expanded second edition includes
125 annotated examples of financial statements, note disclosures, and supporting
schedules, including full sets of financial statements for a state government,
municipality, school district, and public university. It also includes an
example of a complete management’s discussion and analysis.
The
Guide has also been updated to cover major new reporting requirements
issued by the GASB since the publication of the original guide in 2001. The new
topics covered include retiree health insurance, fund balance, derivative
instruments, deposit and investment risk disclosures, and also includes a new
statistical section. As with the first edition, the new Guide includes
a chapter on the basic tools of analyzing the finances of state and local
governments, but with additional attention to risk, efficiency, retirement
benefits, service capacity, and revenue debt analysis.
“Analysts tend to
be frequent users of governmental financial statements and they rely heavily on
the reported financial information for decision-making or assessing
accountability,” said GASB Chairman Robert H. Attmore. “This comprehensive guide
will help them better understand the information that can be found in those
financial statements and will show how basic analytical techniques can be
applied to assess financial position, liquidity, long-term solvency, fiscal
capacity, and risk exposure.”
An Analysts’ Guide to Government
Financial Statements, 2nd edition, can be ordered for $19.95 plus shipping
by visiting the GASB
store, or by calling the GASB Order Department at (800) 748-0659.
An additional guide—What You Should Know about the Finances of Your
Business-Type Activities—will be available in the coming months. This new
guide is devoted to the unique features of financial reporting, including the
activities that governments operate similar to businesses by charging fees in
return for service, such as public utilities, airports, public hospitals, and
public colleges and universities.
In addition, the newly updated and
revised editions of What You Should Know about Your Local Government’s
Finances: A Guide to Financial Statements and What You Should Know
about Your School District’s Finances: A Guide to Financial Statements are
now available at the GASB
store.
About the Governmental Accounting
Standards Board
The GASB is the independent, not-for-profit organization formed in 1984 that
establishes and improves financial accounting and reporting standards for state
and local governments. Its seven members are drawn from the Board’s diverse
constituency, including preparers and auditors of government financial
statements, users of those statements, and members of the academic community.
More information about the GASB can be found at its website, www.gasb.org.