119th Annual Conference Sessions: Accounting and Financial Reporting

• Sun 29 June

  4 sessions

• Mon 30 June

  4 sessions

• Tue 1 July

  3 sessions

• Wed 2 July

  2 sessions

Sessions for Sunday, June 29

• Sun 29 Jun 2:40 PM - 3:30 PM ET Room 146
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  Accounting in the Real World

  Have you ever tried explaining governmental financial statements to those who've never heard of GASB? The curse of knowledge can make it difficult for us to understand the perspective of those who don't know as much as we do about a given topic. Our challenge is to overcome it so we can explain our work and its importance to individuals outside our field.

  

  

  Stephen J. Gauthier, Bob Scott

  1 CPE credits

  Level: basic

  More info
• Sun 29 Jun 2:40 PM - 3:30 PM ET Room 145
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  Are We There Yet? The Financial Data Transparency Act

  The Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA), which was signed in 2022, changes the way governments must report their disclosures (in a structured data format) to the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) system. Federal agencies are currently working through the rulemaking process to implement the act.

  

  

  

  Emily S. Brock, Paulina Haro, Adam Wendell

  1 CPE credits

  Level: intermediate

  More info
• Sun 29 Jun 3:50 PM - 4:40 PM ET Ballroom B
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  Brace for Impact: Proposed Changes to Infrastructure and GAAP

  This year, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) issued preliminary views on major issues related to infrastructure assets that proposed sweeping changes to infrastructure reporting on financial statements, including elements of methods of valuation and additional note disclosures. In response, GFOA offered perspectives from members in accounting, capital planning, and debt management.

  

  

  

  

  Irfan Bora, Olyvia E. Jarmoszka, Jessica Williams, MPA, CPFO, Charlie Yadon

  1 CPE credits

  Level: update

  More info
• Sun 29 Jun 3:50 PM - 4:40 PM ET Ballroom A
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  From Errors to Excellence: Correcting Common ACFR Deficiencies

  GFOA members strive to meet a high standard for comprehensive and timely financial reporting, and overall, they do exceptionally well. GFOA's awards programs recognize almost 5,000 different governments for their achievements. However, no one is perfect and GFOA tracks common deficiencies that are noted in the annual comprehensive financial reports submitted to the Certificate of Achievement (COA) program.

  

  

  

  Patricia R. Dennis, CPA, Brian T. Harder, CPA, CCFO, Dennis Kauffman, CPA, CPFO

  1 CPE credits

  Level: overview

  More info

Sessions for Monday, June 30

• Mon 30 Jun 10:30 AM - 12:10 PM ET Hall D
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  Accounting and Auditing Year in Review

  GFOA's Accounting and Auditing Year in Review provides conference attendees with an overview of changing standards and previews upcoming projects. During this perennial favorite, speakers will provide a comprehensive overview of the key developments in accounting, auditing, and financial reporting that affect state and local governments.

  

  

  

  

  Joel Black, Barbara A. Dameron, Michele Mark Levine, Josh Winfrey

  2 CPE credits

  Level: update

  More info
• Mon 30 Jun 1:30 PM - 2:20 PM ET Ballroom A
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  Achieving Financial Transparency

  Almost all governments post financial reports to their website to inform the public and promote transparency goals. However, do these reports actually provide information that is timely, accessible, and informative for the community? With modern technology, leading governments can create dashboards that offer genuine financial transparency.

  

  

  

  

  

  Ken Burke, Daniel Coughenour, Cathy Landry, Kip Murray, Chandra Peddu

  1 CPE credits

  Level: basic

  More info
• Mon 30 Jun 2:40 PM - 3:55 PM ET Ballroom B
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  To Be or Not to Be: Issues in Defining Materiality

  The application of the materiality concept is important to understand in the preparation of financial statements. This session will discuss the framework of materiality thresholds that audit professionals must use and how various fund types are impacted by materiality.

  

  

  

  

  Susannah Filipovic, Alan Skelton, Brandon Tecca, John Troyer

  1.5 CPE credits

  Level: intermediate

  More info
• Mon 30 Jun 4:15 PM - 5:30 PM ET Ballroom A
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  Complications with Capital Assets

  Capital assets are often the largest assets reported by a government, yet accounting for them often takes place after fiscal year end. This session will cover the complexities related to accounting for capital assets, including proper journal entries for the sale, transfer, and disposal of a capital asset.

  

  

  

  

  David Farmer, Alisha Gamble, Edward Gin, James W Ramsey

  1.5 CPE credits

  Level: basic

  More info

Sessions for Tuesday, July 1

• Tue 1 Jul 10:20 AM - Noon ET Room 146
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  Reflections in the Pool: Looking Back at Recent GASB Changes

  A year after implementing GASB 100, governments were tasked with implementing GASB 101. While GASB 100 focused on the display and presentation of accounting changes and error corrections in the financial statements, GASB 101 changed the recognition and measurement of compensated absences liabilities. Join speakers as they reflect on their experiences preparing for and implementing these new standards.

  

  

  

  

  Tony Boras, Kari Carlson, Michael DeHaven, Tracie L. McCreary, CPA

  2 CPE credits

  Level: intermediate

  More info
• Tue 1 Jul 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM ET Ballroom A
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  The Playbook on Qualitative Disclosures

  Let's talk about disclosures that coordinate with, but don't actually tie to numbers in the statements. Disclosures on tax abatement agreements and certain risk disclosures are required by GAAP and should be reviewed annually to ensure the information presented is complete and accurate. These disclosures present a challenge because they take time to draft and often require information from outside the finance office. This session will cover the requirements of these disclosures and examples from government preparers. Panelists will also discuss a current GASB project that might add a new disclosure to the financial statements on probable dissolution and severe financial stress.

  

  

  

  

  Kristine Brock, Levi Gibson, Dean Mead, Cameron Van Noy, CPA

  1.5 CPE credits

  Level: intermediate

  More info
• Tue 1 Jul 3:35 PM - 4:50 PM ET Room 146
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  Manageable Climb: Preparing for GASB 103

  After ten years in development, GASB issued statement 103, Financial Reporting Model Improvements, in June 2024. This session will explore the changes to the Management's Discussion and Analysis, the reporting of the budgetary comparison schedules, and the presentation of discretely presented component units.

  

  

  

  Evan Davis, Mark Gassaway CPA, MAcc, MBA, Ted Williamson

  1.5 CPE credits

  Level: intermediate

  More info

Sessions for Wednesday, July 2

• Wed 2 Jul 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM ET Ballroom A
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  Get Exposed: Future Concepts for Revenue Recognition

  Raise your expectations! Changes are coming. Not today, not tomorrow, but before you know it, we will be re-evaluating revenue and expense recognition under an anticipated new principles-based model. This session will cover the latest updates on this project work and how it's expected to provide structure to recognition and measurement of some very complex revenue streams. It will also highlight how common revenue streams would be impacted by the proposed guidance.

  

  

  

  Scott Anderson, Paulina Haro, Courtney Shearer, CPA

  2 CPE credits

  Level: overview

  More info
• Wed 2 Jul 10:30 AM - 12:00 AM ET Ballroom A
  Accounting and Financial Reporting

  The End of an ERA: Winding Down from ARPA

  With the expiration of several huge COVID-19 pandemic era programs, government finance staff are tasked with winding down the largest federal funding packages ever received by local governments. This session will provide insight into the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Fiscal Recovery Funds and other federal funding trends.

  

  

  

  VS

  

  Irma Ashworth, Lindsey Oakley, Omar L. Martinez, Veronica Soto, Kendel Taylor

  2 CPE credits

  Level: update

  More info