Review the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) that you obtained.
1. How does the government classify its governmental expenditures, by function or by “object”? Are the classifications approximately the same in both the government-wide and the fund statements?
2. What was the city's largest expenditure for fiscal year 2011? By how much did this increase or decrease since FY 2010? Since FY 2005 (see statistical section)? Can you draw any inferences from this comparison as to the efficiency and effectiveness of the city in providing this service? If not, what other information would you need to make such a judgment?
3. What are the major differences in expenditures/expenses (i.e., reconciling items) as they are reported in the governmental fund and the government-wide statements?
4. On what basis does the government account for its inventories (purchases or consumption)? Does the City maintain a “fund balance-nonspendable” amount for inventories?
5. On what basis does it account for insurance or other prepaid items in its governmental funds? How can you tell?
6. To and from which funds or component units have there been general fund transfers?
7. Explain the nature of any governmental-fund balance sheet classifications related to expenditures.
8. Does the entity report depreciation as an expense in its government-wide statements? If not, why not?
9. What types of other financing sources and uses does the governmental entity report in the general fund? What effect do these items have on the net change in fund balance for the year?