Compare and contrast the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) of the selected local government entity with the government entity identified in the Week 1 homework. In your comparison, include the following:

1. The publication method of the CAFR;

3/13/2020 ASSIGNMENT: FINANCIAL STATEMENT/AUDIT REPORT REVIEW – …

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Week 4 Assignment 1 – Submit Here

1. Compare and contrast the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) of the selected local
government entity with the government entity identified in the Week 1 homework. In your comparison,
include the following:

1. The publication method of the CAFR;
2. Audit and budget information in the CAFR;
3. The type of audit report issued; and
4. The existence or nonexistence of an internal audit function within the government entity.

2. Prepare the analysis for the selected local government entity, including information on the introduction,
financial section, and statistical section prepared in the Continuing Problem CAFR from Chapter 2.

3. Analyze the methods used by the selected local government entity in comparing the budget-to-actual
reports. Your analysis should include an evaluation of the basis of accounting used for the budget and
financial statements.

4. Analyze the sources of revenue for the selected local government. Your analysis should include
information on both governmental and business-type activities of the government. In your report, be sure
to examine the following:

1. Property taxes and how they are accounted for;
2. Other sources identified as primary revenue for the entity;
3. Deferred revenue;
4. Year-to-year variations in the tax levels of income;
5. Various management discussion and analysis items of note; and
6. Information about the general fund.

This course requires use of new Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different than
other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for
details.
Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with 1-inch margins on all
sides; citations and references must follow SWS or school-specific format. Check with your
professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the
professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are
not included in the required assignment page length.

Analyze the financial reporting of a local government, including information on governmental and
business-type activities related to sources of revenue.

Assignment 1: Financial Statement/Audit Report Review
Due Week 4 and worth 110 points

Select one local government in your state or area and review the financial statements and audit report for the
county or municipality. The financial statements of the government you selected should have at least three funds.
Refer to the Continuing Problem homework for Weeks 1 through 3 for this assignment.

Write a three- to five-page paper in which you do the following:

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are as follows:

Denise Bryant 50WEEK 4H

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Writing Standards

Communicating professionally and ethically is one of the most important skillsets we can teach you at

Strayer. This guide gives you a starting point for ensuring;

– Your writing looks and sounds professional

– You give credit to others in your work

Writing Assignments

Title Page

▪ Start your paper with a title page and include assignment title, your name, the course title, your
professor’s name, and date.

▪ For all other writing assignments, see assignment guidelines.

Body

▪ Include page numbers.
▪ For your paper, use double spacing. For all other writing assignments, see assignment spacing

guidelines.

▪ Use Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, or Calibri font style.
▪ Use 10-12 point font size for the body of your text.
▪ For tables/charts/graphs/image, see assignment guidelines.

Clear and Ethical Writing

▪ Writing should be in active voice when possible, use appropriate language, and be concise.
▪ Use the point of view (first, second, or third person) required by the assignment guidelines.
▪ Use spelling and grammar check tools to help ensure your work is error free.
▪ Include in text citations and a reference page when the assignment requires research.

• If a source is cited within the paper, then it needs to be listed on the reference page.

• If a source is listed on the reference page, then it needs to be cited within the paper.

Reference Page

▪ Include a reference page only when the assignment requires research.
▪ Type Reference Page centered on the first line of the page.
▪ Organize references in a numbered list and in order of use throughout the paper. If a source is cited

more than once, use the original number.

In Text Citations

When quoting or paraphrasing another source in your writing, you need to give credit by using an in text

citation. An in text citation includes the author’s last name and the number of the reference from the

reference page list. Remember, only writing assignments that include research require in text citations.

Incorporate in text citations into sentences by using signal phrases (a group of words or phrase that tells the

reader someone else’s thoughts or ideas follow) and/or parentheticals (source information contained in

parenthesis). A well-written paragraph focuses on one idea and normally includes 1-2 in text citations. Try to

use a mix of signal phrases and parentheticals to avoid sounding dull and to make sure your paper is well

balanced.

Option #1: Quoting – citing another person’s work word for word

• Do not quote more than one sentence (approximately 25 words) at a time.

• Place quotation marks at the beginning and the end of the quoted information.

• Do not start a sentence with a quotation.

SIGNAL PHRASE

EXAMPLES:

As Smith wrote in his book, “Writing at a college level requires informed research” (1).

Smith (1) explained in his book, “Writing at a college level requires informed research.”

PARENTHETICAL EXAMPLE:

Many authors agree that “Writing at a college level requires informed research”

(Smith, 1).

Option #2: Paraphrasing – rewording ideas to better fit your paper

• Paraphrasing helps incorporate outside sources while keeping your voice.

• Remember you cannot just replace words with their synonyms (words that mean the same

thing). An appropriate paraphrase changes the order of the words in the original sentence.

• Step away from the original source to allow time to paraphrase without repeating the same

words and phrases.

EXAMPLES:

Original version: “Writing at a college level requires informed research”

As Smith wrote, when writing a paper for higher education, it is important to do research

and cite sources (1).

When writing a paper for higher education, it is important to do research and cite sources

(Smith, 1).
Reference Page

The reference page is a new page that you will add at the end of your paper. It will list the sources that you

used in your research. The word References should appear centered at the top of the page. Remember, only

writing assignments that include research require reference pages.

The reference page should include a numbered list of the sources you used in your paper. The numbers

indicate the order in which you used them in your paper. A well-researched paper has at least as many

sources as pages.

Other reference page guidelines:

• If you list a source as number one in the reference list, it is the first source used in the paper.

• If you use one source multiple times, use the same reference number each time.

• If you use a source with an International Standard Book Number (ISBN), list the reference number,
the author, and ISBN (ex. 1. Jane Smith, Title of Book, ISBN: 1234567890).

• If a source has a permalink or webpage address, list the reference number, the author (if any), and
perma link or webpage address (2. Joe Smith, Title of Article or Page, Permalink or URL).

3/13/2020 Mail – Denise B – Outlook

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Government and Not-for-Profit (ACC410007VA016-1202-001): Update on WK 4

Assignment 1

Dr. JAMES TURKVANT – JAMES.TURKVANT@STRAYER.EDU
Wed 1/29/2020 5:12 PM

Initially, you were suppose to use the CAFR in chapter 1 for the City of Austin, TX as a base for your
comparison, see below:

Accompanying this text, on its website, is a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) of the city
of Austin, Texas. A CAFR includes an entity’s year‐end financial statements; it is not the same as its
budget. Austin’s CAFR forms the basis of the “continuing problems” of these chapters. Download the
CAFR, either from the website of the text or directly from that of the City of Austin
(https://assets.austintexas.gov/financeonline/downloads/cafr/cafr2017 ) to your computer and practice
navigating through it. Alternatively, with the consent of your instructor, you may obtain the CAFR of a
different city, town, or county with a population of 100,000 or more. A CAFR can generally be accessed
from the city’s website or by writing to the governmental entity’s controller or finance director. Most
institutions will provide the reports at no charge. This continuing problem, unlike those in other chapters
of the text, requires no written responses.

Assignment 1

Select one local government in your state or area and review the financial statements and audit report for
the county or municipality. The financial statements of the government you selected should have at least
three funds. Refer to the Continuing Problem homework for Weeks 1 through 3 for this assignment.

Write a three- to five-page paper in which you do the following:

1. Compare and contrast the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) of the selected local
government entity with the government entity identified in the Week 1 homework. In your
comparison, include the following:

1. The publication method of the CAFR;
2. Audit and budget information in the CAFR;
3. The type of audit report issued; and
4. The existence or nonexistence of an internal audit function within the government entity.

2. Prepare the analysis for the selected local government entity, including information on the
introduction, financial section, and statistical section prepared in the Continuing Problem CAFR
from Chapter 2.

3. Analyze the methods used by the selected local government entity in comparing the budget-to-
actual reports. Your analysis should include an evaluation of the basis of accounting used for the
budget and financial statements.

4. Analyze the sources of revenue for the selected local government. Your analysis should include
information on both governmental and business-type activities of the government. In your report,
be sure to examine the following:

3/13/2020 Mail – Denise B – Outlook

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1. Property taxes and how they are accounted for;
2. Other sources identified as primary revenue for the entity;
3. Deferred revenue;
4. Year-to-year variations in the tax levels of income;
5. Various management discussion and analysis items of note; and
6. Information about the general fund.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

This course requires use of new Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). The format is different than
other Strayer University courses. Please take a moment to review the SWS documentation for
details.

Be typed, double-spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with 1-inch margins on all sides;
citations and references must follow SWS or school-specific format. Check with your professor for
any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s
name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the
required assignment page length.

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