The Basic Financial Statements

The Fund Statements

A fund is a stand-alone, self-balancing set of accounts with a specific purpose. Funds are one of our main tools to assess a government’s fiscal accountability. Fiscal accountability is the responsibility of governments to justify that their actions in the current period have complied with public decisions concerning the raising and spending of public money (GASB Statement 34). That responsibility is fundamental to financial reporting and why governments prepare separate fund-based financial statements. They include:

1. Governmental Fund Statements that report on activities financed primarily with revenues from taxes, intergovernmental transfers, and other non-exchange or non-market transaction-based revenue sources. Governments will prepare a Balance Sheet and a Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances for the governmental funds.
   
   
2. Proprietary Fund Statements report on government business-type activities that are financed primarily by user charges and fees. Financial statements include a Statement of Net Position, a Statement of Revenues, Expenses, and Changes in Net Position, and a Statement of Cash Flows.
   
   
3. Fiduciary Fund Statements account for funds held by the government in a trustee or agency capacity. Governments will prepare a Statement of Net Position and a Statement of Changes in Net Position.