GASB Publishes Plain-Language Guide to Notes to the Financial Statements and Supporting Information

Business Wire, June 2, 2005

NORWALK, Conn. -- The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has published a new volume in its User Guide Series. Written for nonaccountants, What Else You Should Know about a Government's Finances: A Guide to Notes to the Financial Statements and Supporting Information is a plain-language introduction to the information that accompanies a state or local government's annual financial statements.

The new guide comprehensively discusses all of the notes to the financial statements required by generally accepted accounting principles. The guide also covers required supplementary information, such as management's discussion and analysis and infrastructure condition reporting, as well as the information presented in a comprehensive annual financial report, such as combining statements and the recently revised statistical section.

What Else You Should Know about a Government's Finances includes chapters devoted to notes and supporting information about:

--assets, such as receivables, investments, and infrastructure

--liabilities, such as long-term debt, derivatives, pensions, and other postemployment benefits

--revenues, expenses, and expenditures

--net assets and fund balances

--specific parts of a government, such as component units and transfers between funds

--other issues, such as subsequent events and significant violations.

Like the GASB's other User Guides, the new guide focuses on the value of the information found in a government's audited financial report and how it can be used to understand and assess the financial health of a government. The new guide contains more than 80 annotated illustrations, a detailed alphabetical index, and an exhaustive glossary.

The new User Guide (product code GUG04) can be ordered for $19.95 through the GASB's order department at 800-748-0659 or via its website at www.gasb.org. The guide can also be ordered at a discount when purchased in a package with another User Guide.

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.