Examining Deposit and Investment Risk Disclosures of a Governmental Entity The fi...

Examining Deposit and Investment Risk Disclosures of a Governmental Entity

The financial reports of governmental entities must provide footnote disclosure of the deposit and investment risks the entity faces. GASB Statement No. 40, “Deposit and Investment Risk Disclosures” (GASB 40), amended GASB Statement No. 3, “Deposits with Financial Institutions, Investments (including Repurchase Agreements) and Reverse Repurchase Agreements” (GASB 3).

The GASB requires disclosures of ( 1 ) the nature of the deposits and of investment risks the governmental entity faces, ( 2 ) the governmental entity’s policies regarding each of those risks, and ( 3 ) specific ones such as credit ratings of investments in fixed income securities and a schedule of their maturity dates and fair values; the types of other investment securities held and their amounts and fair values; any concentrations of investments, other than those in U.S. government securities or in mutual or pooled investment funds, consisting of 5 percent or more of total investments; and the risks from changing interest rates and changing foreign exchange rates.

Required

First, go to the GASB’s website (www.gasb.org) and obtain the summaries of GASB 40 and GASB 3 (the GASB does not provide online access to their complete publications). Second, using an online search engine such as Google, locate the most recent annual report of a local government near your college or university. Then complete parts (a) through (e).

a. List the types of deposit and investment risks addressed in GASB 3 and GASB 40.

b. Explain why disclosures of information about these risks are important to the users of the government’s financial statements.

Complete the following instructions using the footnote information for Deposits and Investments from your local government’s most recent annual report.

c. Describe the types of deposit and investment risks of your local government.

d. Describe the policies your local government has for each type of risk identified.

e. Describe the types of specific disclosures of information for each type of risk identified.