CGFM study materials
CGFM study resources

CGFM flashcards

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32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Interperiod equity
The principle that current-period revenues should cover the cost of current-period services so that costs are not shifted to future taxpayers.
Dillon's Rule
Legal doctrine holding that local governments possess only powers expressly granted by the state, powers necessarily implied, and powers essential to their declared purposes.
GASB
Governmental Accounting Standards Board: the independent standard-setting body for U.S. state and local government financial reporting, established in 1984.
FASAB
Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board: issues federal GAAP, which becomes authoritative after review by the GAO, Treasury, and OMB principals.
Block grant
Intergovernmental aid given for a broad functional purpose with few conditions, allowing the recipient government wide discretion in how funds are spent.
Categorical grant
Aid restricted to a specific program or purpose, frequently requiring a matching contribution or maintenance of effort from the recipient government.
Three branches of government
Legislative power makes laws under Article I, executive power enforces them under Article II, and judicial power interprets them under Article III.
Fund accounting rationale
Separate funds are used because legal and budgetary restrictions require that certain resources be accounted for and spent only for specified purposes.
Modified accrual basis
Governmental fund basis: revenues are recognized when measurable and available, and expenditures when the related liability is incurred.
Fund balance classifications
Nonspendable, restricted, committed, assigned, and unassigned: the five GASB 54 categories reported for governmental fund balances.
Major fund criteria
A fund is major if it is at least 10 percent of its fund type and at least 5 percent of all governmental and enterprise funds combined.
Encumbrance
A commitment of appropriated funds for a specific future purchase, recorded in governmental funds to prevent overspending the adopted budget.
Proprietary funds
Enterprise and internal service funds; they use the economic resources measurement focus and full accrual basis and report net position.
Deferred inflows of resources
Resources not yet available to pay current-period expenditures; recognized as revenue in the period they become available or the claim arises.
Statement of activities
Government-wide statement reporting net expense by function after program revenues, plus general revenues, to arrive at the change in net position.
Net investment in capital assets
Net position component equal to capital assets net of accumulated depreciation, less outstanding debt attributable to acquiring or improving those assets.
MD&A
Management's Discussion and Analysis: required supplementary information giving a plain-language overview of the year's financial activities and analysis of the basic statements.
Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
The complete annual report of a government, containing introductory, financial, and statistical sections; the financial section includes MD&A and the basic financial statements.
Budgetary comparison schedule
Required supplementary information comparing original and final budgets with actual amounts, with variances, for the general fund and major special revenue funds.
Program revenues
Charges for services, operating grants and contributions, and capital grants and contributions, presented on the statement of activities to offset function expenses.
Zero-based budgeting
A method requiring each activity's costs to be justified from zero each budget cycle instead of using the prior year's base.
Statistical section
CAFR section with up to ten years of trend data on revenues, debt, financial position, and demographics; it is unaudited.
Balanced budget equation
Budgeted revenues plus other financing sources equal appropriations plus other financing uses plus or minus the planned change in fund balance.
Popular Annual Financial Report
A summarized, citizen-friendly extract of the CAFR that omits notes and detailed statements and is not GAAP-based.
Green Book
GAO Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, organized into five components and seventeen principles that apply to federal entity operations.
Single audit threshold
A single audit is required when federal award expenditures reach $750,000, rising to $1,000,000 for fiscal years beginning on or after October 1, 2024.
Fraud triangle
Three conditions linked to fraud: pressure or incentive, opportunity to commit it, and rationalization or attitude that justifies the act.
Yellow Book
Generally Accepted Government Auditing Standards issued by the GAO, covering financial audits, attestation engagements, and performance audits with independence and CPE requirements.
Investment objectives order
Public-funds investing prioritizes safety of principal first, liquidity second, and yield last, in that order.
Audit finding elements
Criteria, condition, cause, and effect, plus a recommendation: the elements used to report deficiencies in performance audits.
Segregation of duties
Separating authorization, custody of assets, and recordkeeping among different employees so no single person controls a whole transaction.
Arbitrage rebate
Interest earnings on tax-exempt bond proceeds above the bond yield must be rebated to the U.S. Treasury unless an exception applies.