What does governmental activities mean on the CPA exam?
Governmental activities. The part of a government's operations financed mainly by taxes rather than by fees, reported on the government-wide statements on the full accrual basis.
Defined against GASB 34.
Which CPA exam sections use governmental activities?
Governmental activities appears in the FAR section of the CPA exam.
Other terms defined against GASB 34
- capital assets: In GOVERNMENTAL reporting, long-lived assets such as land, buildings and infrastructure.
- enterprise fund: A proprietary fund used where a government charges outside users for goods or services, run on the full accrual basis like a business.
- full accrual: Recognizing revenue when earned and expense when incurred, and reporting every asset and liability including long-term ones.
- governmental funds: The funds that account for tax-supported activity, reported on the modified accrual basis with a current financial resources focus.
- internal service fund: A proprietary fund that supplies goods or services to other parts of the same government on a cost-reimbursement basis, such as a motor pool.
- management's discussion and analysis: A narrative overview management provides ahead of the financial statements.
- modified accrual: The basis for governmental fund statements: revenue when measurable and available, expenditure when the liability is incurred.
- required supplementary information: Schedules a government must present outside the basic statements, such as budgetary comparisons and pension trend data.
Related terms
- net position: A government's assets plus deferred outflows, less liabilities and deferred inflows.
- continuing operations: Everything the entity still does, as opposed to a component it has disposed of or classified as held for sale.
- component unit: A legally separate organization for which the primary government is financially accountable.