Government Fund Category
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An Government Fund Category is an bookkeeping sub-account within a funds account.
- Context:
- It can be composed of Funds Sub-Sub-Accounts.
- Example(s):
- Governmental Funds — used to account for activities primarily supported by taxes, grants, and similar revenue sources.
- Proprietary Funds — used to account for activities that receive significant support from fees and charges.
- Fiduciary Funds — used to account for resources that a government holds as a trustee or agent on behalf of an outside party that cannot be used to support the government’s own programs.
- …
- Counter-Example(s):
- See: Chart of Accounts.
References
2016
- (Wikipedia, 2016) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/fund_accounting#State_and_local_government_funds Retrieved:2016-1-7.
- State and local governments use three broad categories of funds: governmental funds, proprietary funds and fiduciary funds.
Governmental funds include the following.[1] [2]
- General fund. This fund is used to account for general operations and activities not requiring the use of other funds.
- Special revenue (or special) funds are required to account for the use of revenue earmarked by law for a particular purpose. State and federal fuel tax revenues require special revenue funds, because federal and state laws restrict these taxes to transportation uses.
- Capital projects funds are used to account for the construction or acquisition of fixed assets, [3] such as buildings, equipment and roads. Depending on its use, a fixed asset may instead be financed by a special revenue fund or a proprietary fund. A capital project fund exists only until completion of the project. [4] Fixed assets acquired and long-term debts incurred by a capital project are assigned to the government's General Fixed Assets and Long-Term Debts.
- Debt service funds are used to account for money that will be used to pay the interest and principal of long-term debts. Bonds used by a government to finance major construction projects, to be paid by tax levies over a period of years, require a debt service fund to account for their repayment. The debts of special assessment and proprietary funds are serviced within those funds, rather than by a separate debt service fund. [5]
- Permanent funds account for public infrastructure improvements financed by special levies against property holders. Sidewalk and alley repairs often rely on special assessments.
- Proprietary funds include the following.
- "Internal service funds are used for operations serving other funds or departments within a government on a cost-reimbursement basis. A printing shop, which takes orders for booklets and forms from other offices and is reimbursed for the cost of each order, would be a suitable application for an internal service fund. [6]
- Enterprise funds are used for services provided to the public on a user charge basis, similar to the operation of a commercial enterprise.[7] Water and sewage utilities are common examples of government enterprises. [8] Fiduciary funds are used to account for assets held in trust by the government for the benefit of individuals or other entities. [9] The employee pension fund, created by the State of Maryland to provide retirement benefits for its employees, is an example of a fiduciary fund. Financial statements may further distinguish fiduciary funds as either trust or agency funds; a trust fund generally exists for a longer period of time than an agency fund. [10]
- State and local governments use three broad categories of funds: governmental funds, proprietary funds and fiduciary funds.
- ↑ Hay, p. 6
- ↑ "Touring the Financial Statements, Part III: The Governmental Funds" Government Accounting Standards Board (November 2007). Retrieved 2010-03-17.
- ↑ Fixed assets are sometimes referred to as capital assets, a broader term than fixed assets.
- ↑ Earl Wilson, Jacqueline Reck, Susan Kattelas (2006). Accounting for Governmental & Nonprofit Entities, 14th edition. p. 163. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-310095-1.
- ↑ Hay, p. 164-165
- ↑ Hay, p. 232
- ↑ State of Maryland Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, FY 2009 See "Fund Financial Statements," p. 12-13
- ↑ Hay, p. 247
- ↑ Hay, p. 286
- ↑ Hay, p. 291
2013
- (Georgia Department of Community Affairs, 2013) ⇒ Georgia Department of Community Affairs. (2013). “Third Edition of the Uniform Chart of Accounts for Local Governments in Georgia."
- QUOTE: Governmental accounting systems should be organized and operated on a fund basis. All of a government’s individual funds are first classified by category and then by fund type within each category.
There are three categories:
- Governmental funds — used to account for activities primarily supported by taxes, grants, and similar revenue sources.
- Proprietary funds — used to account for activities that receive significant support from fees and charges.
- Fiduciary funds — used to account for resources that a government holds as a trustee or agent on behalf of an outside party that cannot be used to support the government’s own programs.
- QUOTE: Governmental accounting systems should be organized and operated on a fund basis. All of a government’s individual funds are first classified by category and then by fund type within each category.