ACC 665 Final Project Submission.docx - 1 Final Project...

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Final Project Submission
I. Governmental Organization
A. Financial Reports
Home to over 95,00 residents, the City of Erie is the fourth largest city in Pennsylvania
and sits on the southern shore of Lake Erie. The City of Erie is a Mayoral-Council form of
government, with elected mayors serving four-year terms in an executive capacity and a seven-
member council elected by the City serving in a legislative capacity. The City Controller and
City Treasurer are additional elected positions. The Controller primarily “examines the City’s
system of accounts and assures the validity of financial activity” while the Treasurer deals with
“proper receipt and accounting of all funds owed to the City” [ CITATION The191 \l 1033 ].
The most recently available Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) for 2019 is
comprised of a letter from the mayor, an organizational chart, the independent auditor’s report,
management’s discussion and analysis, and fourteen financial statements categorized by
government-wide financial statements and fund financial statements. Government-wide financial
statements include the statement of net position, a reconciliation of the balance sheet to the
statement of net position, and a statement of activities. Fund financial statements have the
remaining eleven statements. For government funds, there is a balance sheet, statement of
revenues, expenditures, and changes in fund balances, and a reconciliation of that statement to
the statement of activities. For proprietary funds, there is a statement of net position, statement of
revenues, expenses, and changes in net position, and a statement of cash flows. These are
followed by a statement of fiduciary net position and a statement of changes in fiduciary net
position. Similarly, component units have a statement of net position, statement of activities, and

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statement of cash flows. Notes to the financial statements are followed by required and other
supplementary information, such as schedules of changes and contributions, and combining
financial statements. The report finishes with statistical information regarding financial
information and demographic information like population, education level, median income, and
median age.

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B. Standards
GASB requires that a government’s accounting structure allows for fair presentation and
full disclosure of government activities and funds pursuant to GAAP, and the full compliance
with legal and contractual provisions as they relate to finance. Under GASB 1200.102, the
codification allows for comparability among federal and local governments through compliance
with GAAP. Standards are set for CAFRs, management discussion and analysis, and other
required supplementary information. GASB 2200.102 states the minimum financial reporting
requirements: “Management's discussion and analysis, basic financial statements are
government-wide financial statements with separate columns for the governmental and business-
type activities of the primary government as well as for its component units, fund financial