Overview
The U.S. Constitution mandates that “a regular statement and account of the receipts and expenditures of all public money shall be published from time to time” by the federal government (Article I, Section 9, Clause 7).
Two centuries after the publication of the U.S. Constitution, it is still difficult for the federal government to issue financial statements. In this assignment, you examine the U.S. federal government’s financial statements to explore the differences in these statements from other governmental financial statements and the reasons that necessitate these differences.
Instructions
Write a 3-5 page paper in which you address the following:
Discuss three unique characteristics of the federal government that necessitate special accounting and reporting practices, presenting one example for each characteristic.
After reviewing the most recent federal government financial statement of the Financial Report of the United States GovernmentLinks to an external site., explain the type of audit performed, the audit opinion issued, and the auditor’s reason for that opinion.
Identify each of the eight financial statements presented by the federal government and the relevance of each statement’s content to a financial statement user.
Select one of the federal government’s reporting entities included in the Financial Report of the United States Government and express an opinion on whether it is meeting its objectives. Justify your opinion with at least three pieces of data from the reporting entity’s financial report.
Use at least three quality sources to support your writing. Choose sources that are credible, relevant, and appropriate. Cite each source listed on your source page at least one time within your assignment. For help with research, writing, and citation, access the library or review library guides.
