Guest Column
Stacy Bjorhus
Former Finance Director at city of coatesville
Is the City reporting their
Financial Reports in Cash Basis Accounting Method, and why does it matter?
Cash Basis Accounting Method
recognizes revenues when received and expenditures when paid. Cash Basis
Accounting is widely used in the Private Sector, but discouraged by
Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) for governmental entities. The City has reported their Audits and
Financial Reports in Modified Accrual Accounting Method in prior periods, so
using Cash Basis Accounting Method, as it appears the City Finance Department
may currently be doing, and was used during the first months of 2012 (January
& February), will give the false impression that City revenues in the first
two months of the year were in a far rosier position than they actually were.
My belief that
the City is using Cash Basis Accounting
Method, which presents the financial data with overstated 2012 Revenues by more
than $500,000 through Feb 29, 2012, is
based on the January and February Financial Reports posted on The City’s web
site: January
February
Revenues that should be posted to
December 2011 General Ledger and deleted from the 2012 General Ledger:
January
2012 February 2012 Total
Earned Income $122,754 $280,212 $402,966
Local Service Tax (LST) 1,400 5,700 7,100
Cable Television Franchise
22,448 17,430 39,878
State
Grant, Econ Devel 51,424 - 51,424
Total $198,026 $303,342 $501,368
All of these revenues were earned
in 2011, and received within the first 60 days of the New Year. Earned Income and Local Service Tax for 1St Quarter 2012 were due to be
filed with City’s collectors by April 30
2012, and Cable Television Franchise Fees for 4th Quarter 2011 are
paid in the 1st Q of the New Year.
These revenues will be accrued back to 2011 by the City’s outside
auditor, however until then City Council will believe that there is far more
revenue earned and received in the current year. It is possible that other revenues reported
in the January and February Month to Date Financial Reports should also be
posted to the 2011 General Ledger; however identity of revenues earned in 2011
would only be possible with the accompanying check stub information or ACH memo
for automatic deposits in the City’s General Fund Bank Account. The revenues noted above are known to be 2011
revenues based on knowledge of their remittance schedules to the City.
Just some background on this:
In 1999 the Governmental Accounting
Standards Board (GASB) issued Statement 34 which stated how municipalities
throughout the United States were required to report their financial reports,
capital assets, liabilities, long and short term debt. GASB 34 was required to be complied with by
2004, at the latest. The goal was to be
able to measure municipal performance, with comparison to other municipalities,
with comprehensive financial data that is easy to read and compares municipal
performance on a level basis of comparison.
One of GASB 34 Statement’s major changes that affected municipal
governments on a day to day basis was a requirement to change the accounting
method from Cash Basis Accounting Method (revenues are recognized when cash is
received, and expenditures are recognized when cash in expended and cash assets
are diminished) and move towards Accrual Basis Accounting (revenues are recognized
when earned, expenditures are recognized when the liability is
established).
The City of Coatesville, like many
other municipalities, has opted to report their Annual Audits and Statements in
Modified Accrual Basis Accounting which recognizes revenues earned in the
period earned and received within 60 days of Year End, and expenditures are
recognized in the accounting period in which the liability was incurred, if
measurable.* (GASB accepts Modified Accrual Accounting Basis). Barbacane Thornton, the City’s outside
auditors, explain how they treat revenues and expenditures in the City’s Annual
Reports. See: Notes to Statements in the Annual Audits and
Statements pages 17 of 40 and 18 of 40:
Now based on the above, the
following question needs to be raised:
Why is the City currently in a cash
crunch and pondering another withdrawal from the Trust? Has the City overspent their foreseeable revenues
because the Financial Reports for January and February (and possibly March
through current period) have presented financial data in Cash Basis rather than
in Modified Accrual Basis and have overstated revenues? Has City Council based their actions on
incorrect financial data presented in Cash Basis Accounting Method and were duped
as to the City’s financial condition until it was too late to turn back?
Is Council aware that their
financial reports are prepared using a Cash Basis Accounting Method and not the
method that the outside auditors use, and has been used for Financial Reporting
by the City since September 2009?
The City’s current Month to Date
Financial Reports for 2012 (January
and February) as they are posted on the
City’s web site are reporting financial data to City Council using Cash Basis
Accounting Basis rather than Modified Accrual Accounting Basis. Why? Is
there a purpose for reporting in Cash Basis, or are the City’s Manager and City
Council unaware of the requirements of GASB 34 and the City’s outside auditors?
Expenditures that should be accrued
back to 2011 City Financial Software Module and Financial Reports cannot be
picked out as easily as the revenues. It
is possible that the City is also reporting expenditures in 2012 that do not
belong there. The problem with
expenditure misclassification is that the 2011 expenditures will be understated
and will distort historical records, for budget preparation purposes in the
future or Bonus Pay evaluation if Bonus Pay is paid out based on expenditure
levels of 2011.
City Council may have made economic
decisions in 2012 based on their belief that there was more revenue in the
current year than there actually was.
One can only speculate what financial data
Council Members are presented, for their decisions that are affecting
residents, businesses and property owners alike.
For more information:
"Governmental fund financial statements (including financial data for the general
fund and special revenue, capital projects, debt service, and permanent funds)
should be prepared using the current financial resources measurement focus and
the modified accrual basis of accounting. Proprietary
fund financial statements (including financial data for enterprise
and internal service funds) and fiduciary fund financial statements (including
financial data for fiduciary funds and similar component units) should be
prepared using the economic resources measurement focus and the accrual basis
of accounting."
In the
addition the following was taken from Barbacane Thorntons Report
presented to the City of Coatesville:
“CITY OF COATESVILLE
NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Governments/
Funds
All governmental funds are accounted for using the
modified accrual basis of accounting and the current financial resources measurement focus.
Under this basis, revenues are recognized In the accounting period in which they become
measurable and available. Expenditures are recognized in the accounting period in which the
fund liability is incurred, if measurable.
Revenue
Recognition
In
applying the "susceptible to accrual" concept under the modified
accrual basis, revenues are considered
to be available when they are collectible within the current period or soon
enough thereafter
to pay liabilities of the current period. For this purpose, the City considers
property and
earned income tax revenue to be available if collected within 60 days of the end of the fiscal period.
Revenues for state and federally funded projects are recognized at the time all eligibility
requirements have been satisfied. Eligibility requirements include timing
requirements,
SUMMARY
OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (cont'd)
which
specify the year when the resources are required to be used or the year when
use is first permitted;
matching requirements, in which the City must provide local resources to be
used for a
specified purpose; and expenditure requirements, in which the resources are
provided to the City on a
reimbursement basis.
Property
tax and earned income tax receivables collected
after 60 days from year end, though Measurable,
are not available soon enough in the subsequent year to finance current period obligations.
Therefore, property and earned income tax receivables are recorded and deferred until
they become available.
Other
revenues, including certain other charges for services and miscellaneous revenues
are Recorded
as revenue when received in cash because they generally are not measurable
until actually
received.
Expenditure
Recognition
The
measurement focus of governmental fund accounting is on decreases in net
financial
resources
(expenditures) rather than expenses. Most expenditures are measurable and are
recorded
when the related fund liability is incurred. However, principal and interest on general
long-term debt which has not matured are recognized when paid. Further, as
provided in GASB
Interpretation No. 6, Recognition and Measurement of Certain Liabilities and Expenditures
in GovernmentalFundFinancialSfatements, certain governmental fund
liabilities and
expenditures, such as for compensated absences, are recognized to the extent
the liabilities
mature (come due for payment) each period. Allocations of costs, such as Depreciation and
amortization are not recognized in the governmental funds."
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