State and local reporting entities touch the lives of all of us citizens on a daily basis. We want to address the question: Is the unique set of governmental accounting principles warranted or could the financial information of a state or local government be fairly presented by applying the same rules and procedures as a for-profit business enterprise such as Microsoft or Google? The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has identified several major differences that explain the need for an entirely different set of generally accepted accounting principles for a government such as the City of Detroit, Adrian, the state of Michigan, etc. as opposed to General Motors Corporation. Discuss some of the rationale for having this