Reference no: EM131328066

Assignment

For your Writing Project, you will analyze the government-wide financial statements for a sample city for a three-year period. In your textbook, please reference page 436 Exercise 10-20 as your guide. You will find Statements of Net Position and Statements of Activities for FY 2015, 2016 and 2017 on pages 437-440. You are required to complete Exercise 10-20 Part a & b using the Excel template found above and Part c using Microsoft Word to prepare a paper reporting your findings. Part a & b will require you to calculate financial ratios for FY 2017 and then you will prepare a presentable spreadsheet that will accompany your paper. Part c will require you to provide an overall assessment of the city's financial condition to the City Commissioner using the information provided, both financial and non-financial. In your summary, be sure to reference how GASB standards are reflected in the financial statements and what role GASB plays in the financial reporting process. Information on how to access GASB Codification is also available above.

Part a & b - Ratios: The Excel file should contain financial ratios related to Illustration 10-4 found on page 419 of your text. You should also demonstrate the use of various features in Excel to calculate formulas and ratios. Once you have calculated the appropriate ratios, be sure to present them in a professional format to accompany your paper.

Part c - Paper: Title page should contain a title, student name, date, class name/number, and running head. Abstract page should be included (one paragraph, not indented) highlighting the key points of your paper. Paper should be double spaced, 1" margins, 12 pt font Times New Roman style, pages numbered throughout the document with running head in all capitals on each page.

Comparative Ratios. The government-wide financial statements for the City of Arborland for a three-year period are presented on the following pages.

Additional information follows:

Population: Year 2017: 30,420, Year 2016: 28,291, Year 2015: 26,374. Debt limit remained at $20,000,000 for each of the three years. Net cash from operations is generally 80 percent of total revenues each year.

Required

a. Which of the financial performance measures in Illustration 10-4 can be calculated for the City of Arborland based on the information that is provided?

b. Calculate those ratios identified in part a for FY 2017. Show your computations.

c. Provide an overall assessment of the City of Arborland's financial condition using all the information provided, both financial and nonfinancial. Use information from the prior years to form your assessment.

Illustration 10-4 provides additional descriptions of the above ratios, along with formulas for calculating them. Other ratios that capture these dimensions are change in overall financial position, reported as a percentage of total net position, and levels of reserves or deficits, employing expenses as a denominator instead of revenues. Chaney, Mead, and Schermann suggest these ratios, as well as general revenues minus transfers as a percentage of expenses, to measure financial performance. They also recommend change in net position plus interest expense as a percentage of interest expense as an additional solvency measure.

Attachment:- Writing_Project.rar