Week 6 Tammy Kreiser

THIS IS ONLY AN INTERPRETATION, FIVE SENTENCES AND A QUESTION IS ALL I NEED. TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS, HAVE REFERENCES

A budget is a plan for a future fiscal period, typically a year, primarily showing how tax revenue will be allocated; a CAFR contains the actual results of the prior yearâs financial activities. I selected the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) of the City of Harrisburg, which is the capital of Pennsylvania. This CAFR is from Fiscal Year 2015 this was the newest one available. The city of Harrisburg has been known for corrupt financials and over spending, and Mayorâs accused of buying unnecessary items for the local museums. The CAFR consists of three sections: Introductory, Financial and Statistical.

The introductory goes over the report, and explains who is responsible of preparing the report. It states who the audited the financial statements and their credentials. The profile of the government is also detailed in this section along with the budgeting controls and the compliance and legal provisions that embodied in the financial statements. A description of the Cityâs cash management, risk management and another category.

The financial section discusses the analysis of all the net positions with changes, statement of activities, balance sheets, assets, revenues, liabilities, long-term debt, expenses, cash flows, city contributions, and a budget comparison schedule. The amount of taxes we have to pay to live in this city and to work here is increasing every year due to past officials who couldnât stick with their budget. The cityâs financial analysis in the CAFR shows only activity from 2014 & 2015 you can identify the big difference when new officials were placed in Harrisburg. I never voted for local elections until 2016 and this CAFR is a great tool to see what is really being spent in this city. The new Mayor is on this new CAFR and you can see the difference in the financial statements just form the first year here was elected. The revenue has increased by the increase of meters in the city and the amount of businesses that have opened up since the new Mayor has been elected. These are important visuals for the locals and constituents. The Budgetary Comparison Schedule was quite impressive shows me to balance even a local budget like a City is quite difficult.

Resource: Genito, M., Back to Basics: An Overview of Governmental Accounting and Financial Reporting, (2013, February), Retrieved Article 7/3/2017 http://www.gfoa.org/sites/default/files/GFR_FEB_13...

Website: 2015 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report Harrisburg City, Harrisburg City Controller, Link Retrieved 7/3/2017: http://harrisburgcitycontroller.com/wp-content/upl...

Thanks

Tammy