Deck 1: The Government and Not-For-Profit Environment

Question 1

Which of the following activities is NOT an activity in which a governmental entity might engage?

A)Selling electric power.
B)Operating a golf course.
C)Operating a bookstore.
D)All of the above are activities that might be carried out by a government.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Governmental entities have no need for an accounting system.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The main objective of a typical governmental or not-for-profit entity is to earn a profit.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Lenders use the financial statements of governments and not-for profits just as they would those of businesses, that is, to help assess the borrower's credit-worthiness.

Question 5

A government's budget may be backed by the force of law.

Question 6

A primary characteristic that distinguishes governmental entities from business entities is

A)The need to generate revenues equal to or in excess of expenditures/expenses.
B)The importance of the budget in the governing process.
C)The need to provide goods or services.
D)The correlation between revenues generated and demand for goods or services.

Question 7

Governments and not-for-profits may never engage in business-type activities.

Question 8

To obtain a comprehensive understanding of a government's fiscal health, a financial analyst should obtain an understanding of which of the following?

A)All of the resources owned by the governmental entity.
B)All of the resources which may be summoned by a governmental entity.
C)Demographic data about the residents served by the governmental entity.
D)All of the above.

Question 9

A government's internal managers rely on general purpose financial statements for a considerable amount of information about their government.

Question 10

Which of the following characteristics distinguishes a governmental or not-for-profit entity from a business entity?

A)There is always a direct link between revenues generated and expenditures/expenses incurred.
B)Capital assets are used to produce revenues and save costs.
C)Revenues are always indicative of demand for goods and services.
D)The mission of the entity will determine the goods or services provided.

Question 11

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board establishes generally accepted accounting principles for all state and local government entities, as well as all not-for-profit entities.

Question 12

Financial statements, no matter how prepared, do not directly affect the economic worth of an entity.

Question 13

A primary characteristic that distinguishes not-for-profit entities from business entities is

A)The need to generate revenues equal to or in excess of expenditures/expenses.
B)The importance of the budget in the governing process.
C)The need to provide goods or services.
D)The correlation between revenues generated and demand for goods or services.

Question 14

Which of the following characteristics is unique to a governmental entity?

A)The ability to have activities financed with tax-exempt debt.
B)The power to impose fees.
C)The ability to issue tax-exempt debt.
D)The ability to have activities financed by Federal grants.

Question 15

Which of the following statements is true?

A)Governments may engage in activities similar to activities engaged in by for-profit entities.
B)There are a limited number of different types of governments.
C)All governmental entities engage in the same activities.
D)Managers may have a long-term focus and thereby sacrifice the short-term liquidity of the entity.

Question 16

The Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Board's standards do not apply to the federal Department of Treasury.

Question 17

Governments may be subject to the same pressures that led to accounting scandals like Enron.

Question 18

The most significant financial document provided by a governmental entity is the

A)The balance sheet.
B)The operating statement.
C)The operating budget.
D)The cash flow statement.

Question 19

In which of the following activities is a not-for-profit entity least likely to engage?

A)Providing educational services.
B)Providing health-care services.
C)Providing for terrorism defense.
D)Retail sales of cookies.

Question 20

Which of the following can be affected by GAAP?

A)Legal ability to issue bonds.
B)Ability to balance the budget.
C)Amount reported as employee pension plan contributions.
D)Claims and judgments settled.

Question 21

Which of the following is an objective of financial reporting for not-for-profit entities as established by FASB? Financial reporting should provide information that is useful to present and potential resource providers and other users in:

A)Assessing the types of services provided and the need for those services.
B)Assessing the services provided and the entity's ability to earn a profit.
C)Making rational decisions about the allocation of resources to those organizations.
D)Assessing how managers have managed personnel.

Question 22

Under certain circumstances a governmental entity might use standards established by which of the following standard-setting bodies?

A)GASB.
B)FASB.
C)AICPA.
D)All of the above.

Question 23

As used by GASB, interperiod equity refers to which of the following? Financial reporting should:

A)Demonstrate compliance with finance-related contractual requirements.
B)Provide information to determine whether current-year revenues were sufficient to pay for current-year services.
C)Demonstrate whether resources were obtained and used in accordance with the entity's legally adopted budget.
D)Provide information to assist users in assessing the government's economy, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Question 24

Which of the following is NOT a purpose of external financial reporting by governments? External financial reports should allow users to

A)Assess financial condition.
B)Compare actual results with the budget.
C)Assess the ability of elected officials to effectively manage people.
D)Evaluate efficiency and effectiveness.

Question 25

Which of the following constituency groups would be most likely to evaluate government financial statements to determine likely areas in which to achieve cost-savings?

A)Creditors.
B)Union officials representing the government's employees.
C)Federal agencies that provide purpose-restricted grants.
D)Students of governmental accounting.

Question 26

In descending order, the hierarchy of GAAP applicable to a church-owned college may be:

A)FASB Statements and Interpretations, FASB Technical Bulletins, AICPA Industry Audit Guides, FASB Implementation Guides, other accounting literature-including GASB Standards.
B)FASB Statements and Interpretations, FASB Technical Bulletins, FASB Implementation Guides, AICPA Practice Bulletins if cleared by FASB.
C)GASB Statements and Interpretations, AICPA Industry Audit Guides, GASB Implementation Guides, other accounting literature-including FASB Standards.
D)GASB Statements and Interpretations, GASB Technical Bulletins, AICPA Industry Audit Guides, AICPA Practice Bulletins if cleared by GASB, GASB Implementation Guides, other accounting literature-including FASB standards.

Question 27

Which of the following objectives is considered to be the cornerstone of financial reporting by a governmental entity?

A)Accountability.
B)Budgetary compliance.
C)Interperiod equity.
D)Service efforts and accomplishments.

Question 28

Which of the following is common to both governments and not-for-profit entities but distinguishes these entities from for-profit entities?

A)The budget is a legal, financial document.
B)Revenues are usually indicative of demand for goods or services.
C)There is direct matching of revenues and expenses.
D)There are no defined ownership interests.

Question 29

Given a specific set of data, the basis of accounting selected by or imposed on a governmental entity will least affect which of the following?

A)Determining whether or not the governmental entity has a balanced budget.
B)Determining whether or not the governmental entity has the ability to issue debt.
C)Determining whether or not certain economic events occurred.
D)Determining the annual payments to a government-sponsored pension plan.

Question 30

Which of the following entities was a principal in creating the FASAB?

A)U.S.Congress.
B)Office of Management and Budget.
C)Governmental Accounting Standards Board.
D)Securities and Exchange Commission.

Question 31

Users of government financial statements should be interested in information about compliance with laws and regulations for which of the following reasons?

A)To determine if the entity has complied with bond covenants.
B)To determine if the entity has complied with taxing limitations.
C)To determine if the entity has complied with donor restrictions on the use of funds.
D)To determine all of the above.

Question 32

Which of the following is NOT a reason why users need governmental and not-for-profit external financial statements?

A)To determine the ability of the entity to meet its obligations.
B)To determine the ability of the entity to continue to provide services.
C)To predict future fiscal solvency.
D)To evaluate the overall profitability of the entity.

Question 33

Which of the following is an objective of financial reporting by governmental entities as established by GASB?

A)Financial reporting should assist users in assessing the management skills of top management.
B)Financial reporting should assist users in determining if current-period revenues were sufficient to pay for current-period services.
C)Financial reporting should assist users in evaluating the cash management operations of the governmental entity for the year.
D)Financial reporting should assist users in assessing whether the government provided appropriate services to its constituents in the current year.

Question 34

The primary standard-setting body for accounting and financial reporting by a state-supported college or university is:

A)GASB.
B)FASB.
C)AICPA.
D)All of the above.

Question 35

A regulatory agency would use the external financial statements of a local government for which of the following purposes?

A)To assure that the entity is spending and receiving resources in accordance with laws, regulations or policies.
B)To determine how resources should be allocated.
C)To exercise general oversight responsibility.
D)To do all of the above.

Question 36

Which of the following is a probable use a donor would make of the external financial statements of a not-for-profit entity?

A)To determine the proportion of entity resources directed to programs as opposed to fund-raising.
B)To determine the creditworthiness of the entity for investment purposes.
C)To determine the salaries paid to all employees of the entity.
D)To determine the budget of the entity.

Question 37

The basis of accounting selected by or imposed on a governmental entity can influence which of the following?

A)A decision to contract-out a specific service rather than provide that service itself.
B)The amount of salary increases proposed by union negotiators.
C)The amount that is available to spend on a donor-specified project or service.
D)All of the above.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT generally considered a main user of government and not-for-profit entity external financial statements?

A)Investors and creditors.
B)Taxpayers.
C)Donors.
D)Internal managers.

Question 39

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board is the primary standard-setting body for:

A)All governments.
B)All state and local governments.
C)All governments and all not-for-profit entities.
D)All state and local governments and all not-for-profit entities.