1-2 1.Rule 203 of the AICPAs Code of Professional Conduct pertains to a. CPAs independence b. authorities designated to establish accounting standards c. standards of competency d. solicitation of new clients by a CPA 2. Which of the following rule-making authorities would establish accounting standards for Stanford University (a private university)? a. the AICPA b. the FASB c. the FASAB d. the GASB 3. Which of the following rule-making authorities would establish accounting standards for the University of Texas (a public university)? a. the AICPA b. the FASB c. the FASAB d. the GASB 4. If the GASB has not issued a pronouncement on a specific issue, which of the following is true with respect to FASB pronouncements? a. they would automatically govern b. they could be taken into account but would have no higher standing than other accounting literature c. they are irrelevant d. they could be taken into account by the reporting entity, but only if disclosure is made in notes to the financial statements 5. The FASB is to the GASB as a. a brother is to a sister b. a father is to a son c. a son is to a father d. a daughter is to a friend 6. Standards promulgated by the FASB are most likely to be adhered to by which of the following governmental units? a. a police department b. a public school c. an electric utility d. a department of highways 7. Which of the following practices is most likely to undermine interperiod equity? a. paying for a new school building out of current operating funds b. paying the administrative staff of a school out of current operating funds c. issuing 20-year bonds to finance construction of a new highway d. recognizing gains and losses on marketable securities as prices increase and decrease 8. The term independent sector refers to a. states that have opted not to receive federal funds b. not-for-profit organizations c. churches that are unaffiliated with a particular denomination d. universities that are not affiliated with a particular athletic conference 9. Which of the following is not an objective of external financial reporting by either the GASB or the FASB? a. to enable the statement user to detect fraud b. to disclose legal or contractual restrictions on the use of resources c. to provide information about how the organizations meet their cash requirements d. to provide information that would enable a user to assess the service potential of longlived assets 10. Which of the following is the least appropriate use of the external financial statements of a government? a. to assess the entitys financial position b. to assess whether the compensation of management is reasonable in relation to that in comparable entities c. to compare actual results with the budget d. to evaluate the efficiency and effectiveness of the entity in achieving its objectives Problem 1-3 Budgeting practices that satisfy cash requirements may not promote interperiod equity. The Burnet County Road Authority was established as a separate government to maintain county highways. The road authority was granted statutory power to impose property taxes on county residents to cover its costs, but it is required to balance its budget, which must be prepared on a cash basis. In its first year of operations it engaged in the following transactions, all of which were consistent with its legally adopted, cash-based budget: _ Purchased $10 million of equipment, all of which had an anticipated useful life of 10 years. To finance the acquisition, the authority issued $10 million in 10-year term bonds (i.e., bonds that mature in 10 years) _ Incurred wages, salaries, and other operating costs, all paid in cash, of $6 million _ Paid interest of $0.5 million on the bonds _ Purchased $0.9 million of additional equipment, paying for it in cash. This equipment had a useful life of only three years 1. The authoritys governing board levies property taxes at rates that are just sufficient to balance the authoritys budget. What is the amount of tax revenue that it is required to collect? 2. Assume that in the authoritys second year of operations, it incurs the same costs, except that it purchases no new equipment. What amount of tax revenue is it required to collect? 3. Make the same assumption as to the tenth year, when it has to repay the bonds. What amount of tax revenue is it required to collect? 4. Comment on the extent to which the authoritys budgeting and taxing policies promote interperiod equity. What changes would you recommend? Problem 1-4 The dual objectives of assessing interperiod equity and ensuring budgetary compliance may necessitate different accounting practices. A city engages in the transactions that follow. For each transaction, indicate the amount of revenue or expenditure that it should report in 2012. Assume first that the main objective of the financial statements is to enable users to assess budgetary compliance. Then assume alternatively that the main objective is to assess interperiod equity. The city prepares its budget on a modified cash basis (that is, it expands the definition of cash to include short-term marketable securities), and its fiscal year ends on December 31. 1. Employees earned $128,000 in salaries and wages for the last five days in December 2012. They were paid on January 8, 2013. 2. A consulting actuary calculated that, per an accepted actuarial cost method, the city should contribute $225,000 to its firefighters pension fund for 2012. However, the city contributed only $170,000, which is the amount budgeted at the start of the year. 3. The city acquired three police cars for $35,000 cash each. The vehicles are expected to last for three years. 4. OnDecember 1, 2012, the city invested $99,000 in short-term commercial paper (promissory notes). The notes matured January 1, 2013. The city received $100,000. The $1,000 difference between the two amounts represents the citys return (interest) on the investment. 5. On January 2, 2012, the city acquired a new $10 million office building, financing it with 25-year serial bonds. The bonds are to be repaid evenly over the period during which they are outstandingthat is, $400,000 per year. The useful life of the building is 25 years. 6. On January 1, 2012, the city acquired another $10 million office building, financing this facility with 25-year term bonds. These bonds will be repaid entirely when they mature January 1, 2037. The useful life of this building is also 25 years. 7. City restaurants are required to pay a $1,200 annual license fee, the proceeds of which the city uses to fund its restaurant inspection program. The license covers the period July 1 through June 30. In 2012 the city collected $120,000 in fees for the license period beginning July 1, 2012. 8. The city borrowed $300,000 in November 2012 to cover a temporary shortage of cash. It expects to repay the loan in February 2013. Problem 1-5 Year-end financial accounting and reporting can reveal the economic substance of government actions that have been taken mainly to balance the budget. Public officials, it is often charged, promote measures intended to make the government look good in the short-term, but that may be deleterious in the long term. Assume that a citys budget is on a cash or near-cash basis. Further assume that the following actions, designed to increase a reported surplus, were approved by the city council and did indeed reduce budgetary expenditures or increase budgetary revenues: a. The city reduced its contributions to the employee defined benefit pension plan from the $10 million recommended by the citys actuary to $5 million. Under a defined benefit plan, the employer promises employees specified benefits upon their retirement, and the level of benefits is independent of when and how much the employer contributes to the plan over the employees years of service. b. It reduced by $1 million the citys cash transfer to a rainy-day reserve that is maintained to cover possible future reductions in tax collections attributable to a downturn in the regions economy. c. It sold securities that had been held as an investment. The securities had been purchased five years earlier at a cost of $2 million. Market value at the time of sale was $5 million. d. It delayed until the following year $10 million of maintenance on city highways. 1. Suppose that you were asked to propose accounting principles for external reporting that would capture the true economic nature of these measuresactions that, in substance, did not improve the citys financial performance or position. For each measure, indicate how you would require that it be accounted for and reported. 2. Can you see any disadvantages to the principles that you propose? Problem 1-6 Choice of accounting principles may have significant economic consequences. In preparing its budget proposals, a citys budget committee initially estimated that total revenues would be $120 million and total expenditures would be $123 million. In light of the balanced budget requirements that the city has to meet, the committee proposed several measures to either increase revenues or decrease expenditures. They included the following: a. Delay the payment of $0.4 million of city bills from the last week of the fiscal year covered by the budget to the first week of the next fiscal year. b. Change the way property taxes are accounted for in the budget. Currently, property taxes are counted as revenues only if they are expected to be collected during the budget year. New budgetary principles would permit the city to include as revenues all taxes expected to be collected within 60 days of the following fiscal year, in addition to those collected during the year. The committee estimates that the change would have a net impact of $1.2 million. c. Change the way that supplies are accounted for in the budget. Currently, supplies are recognized as expenditures at the time they are ordered. The proposal would delay recognition of the expenditure until the supplies are actually received. The committee estimates a net effect of $0.8 million. d. Defer indefinitely $1.5 million of maintenance on city roads. Except as just noted with respect to supplies, the city currently prepares its budget on a cash basis, even though other bases are also legally permissible. It prepares its year-end financial statements, however, on an accrual basis. 1. Indicate the impact of each of the proposals on the citys (1) budget, (2) annual year-end financial statements, (3) substantive economic well-being. Be sure to distinguish between direct and indirect consequences. 2. It is sometimes said that choice of accounting principles doesnt matter in that the principles affect only the way in which the entitys fiscal story is told; they have no impact on the entitys actual financial history or current status. Do you agree? Explain