Week 4 Assignment 2 – Financial Reporting Review of Local Government
Overview
Refer to the readings, discussions, and homework for Weeks 1–3 for this assignment.
Review the financial statements and audit reports for a local county or municipality of your choice.
The financial statements of the government you selected should have at least three funds.
Instructions
Write a 3–5 page paper in which you do the following:
Compare and contrast the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) of the selected local government entity with the government entity identified in the Week 1 homework.
In your comparison, include the following:
The publication method of the CAFR.
Audit and budget information in the CAFR.
The type of audit report issued.
The existence or nonexistence of an internal audit function within the government entity.
Prepare the analysis for the selected local government entity, including information on the introduction, financial section, and statistical section prepared in the Continuing Problem CAFR from Chapter 2.
Analyze the methods used by the selected local government entity in comparing the budget-to-actual reports.
Include in your analysis an evaluation of the basis of accounting used for the budget and financial statements.
Analyze the sources of revenue for the selected local government.
Include information on both governmental and business-type activities, examining:
Information about the general fund.
Various management discussion and analysis items of note.
Year-to-year variations in the tax levels of income.
Deferred revenue.
Property taxes and how they are accounted for other sources identified as primary revenue for the entity.
This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards. For assistance and information, please refer to the Strayer Writing Standards link in the left-hand menu of your course. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment:
Analyze the financial reporting of a local government, including information on governmental and business-type activities related to sources of revenue.
Required CAFRs –
The Town of Winston-Salem, NC’s CAFR is the CAFR to use to compare to the Town of Cary, NC for this assignment. The towns are similar in size and under the same state government, making the comparisons meaningful.
https://www.cityofws.org/DocumentCenter/View/11683/2019-City-of-Winston-Salem-Comprehensive-Annual-Financial-Report?bidId=
Assignment 1 Requirements Explained 2021.docx
