Governmental and Institutional Accounting

Oneshots have a greater impact on cashbased budgets than on accrualbased financial statements.

A city recently proposed the following oneshot measures to help balance its 2020 general fund budget (the only budget that is required by law to be balanced). For each of the measures, indicate how it would affect revenues (or their equivalent, such as gains) on its 2020 budget as well as its fund and governmentwide December 31, 2020, financial statements. That is, indicate the amount, if any by which revenues will increase. The city's budget is prepared on a cash basis; its financial statements are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

Briefly explain and justify your answer.

1, The city will sell bonds (accounted for in the general fund) that it planned to hold to maturity as an investment. The bonds currently have a market value of $1,030,000 and could be sold for that amount. They were acquired for $1,000,000.

2, The city will reduce the protest period on traffic fines by 15 days, thereby increasing the amounts due in 2020 by $45,000. Of this amount, $20,000 will be paid without protest, and $10,000 will be protested (hearings to be held in 2021). Of the $10,000 that will be protested, only $2,000 will actually have to be paid (all by February 2021). The balance will be voided as the result of successful protests. Of the remaining $15,000 that was neither paid nor protested in 2020, $6,000 will eventually be paidevenly over the first six months of 2021 (i.e., $1,000 per month). The $9,000 balance will be uncollectible.

3, The city will sell an office building for $45 million. At the time of sale, the building had a book value of $18 million (cost of $30 million less $12 million accumulated depreciation).

4, It will advance the date on which sales taxes are due. Currently, small merchants must remit by January 15 taxes on sales made in October and November. They will now have to remit them by December 31. The change will affect $4 million in taxes.