A municipality expects to use a land ll evenly throughout the 25 years from January 1, 2014,
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The government intends to pay for the closure and monitoring costs evenly over the 25 years that the landfill is in use (2014 through 2038) by making annual cash contributions to a trust fund. The resources of the trust fund will be invested in government securities that can be expected to earn interest at a rate of 5 percent.
1. How much would the municipality need in the trust fund as of December 31, 2038, to satisfy its monitoring obligations for the next 30 years? [Hint: What is the present value of an annuity of $10,000 for 30 years?] How much would the government need in the fund to pay the closing costs?
2. How much would it have to contribute to the fund during each of the 25 years it brings waste to the landfill to have a sufficient amount in the fund at the end of 2038 to satisfy its obligations for both the closure and the monitoring costs? [Hint: The required sum, based on the calculations in part (1), is the equivalent of the future value of a 25-year annuity of unknown amount (x) compounded at a rate of 5 percent.]
3. Per the GASB reporting standards, what amount would the government have to report as its landfill closure and monitoring expenses during each of the 25 years (2014 through 2038), irrespective of how much it actually contributes to the trust fund? Assume that the costs were as estimated.
4. If the government were to make the contributions as you calculated in part (2), but charged the expenses that you calculated in part (3), would it be overstating its closure and monitoring expenses? Explain. What might be a factor that mitigates the overstatement of the expenses?
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Related Book For
Government and Not for Profit Accounting Concepts and Practices
ISBN: 978-1118155974
6th edition
Authors: Michael H. Granof, Saleha B. Khumawala
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