PurposeThe US federal government requires auditors to follow governmental auditing standards when performing audits of entities expending significant federal government dollars. This study explores stakeholder participation during the comment letter phase of government auditing standard setting to determine if participation is symbolic or substantive.Design/methodology/approachResearchers conduct an analysis of the 179 comment letters submitted to the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) and received for their 2010 and 2017 exposure drafts of government auditing standards.FindingsThe distribution of stakeholder participation groups in the government auditing standard-setting process differs from the distribution in the private company auditing standard-setting process. On average, participants submit letters that are greater than two pages in length. Participants also contribute feedback on topics that the GAO directly solicits. Taken together, the results demonstrate stakeholder behaviors that are consistent with a substantive rather than symbolic due process involvement for government auditing standards.Research limitations/implicationsStakeholder beliefs are inferred based on the observed behavior of comment letter submissions. Also, there is a subjective element to the classification of the comment letters for the study.Practical ImplicationsGiven the far-reaching implications of Yellow Book auditing standards on public, private and nonprofit entities, the findings are relevant to a heterogeneous audience. This study reveals opportunities for users of government auditing standards, practitioners and academics for greater involvement in due process standard setting to bring additional legitimacy to the GAO and its standard-setting activities.Originality/valueBeyond the current study, little empirical research examines Yellow Book auditing standards or the due process through which these standards are established. This is the first study to examine the complete set of comment letters for the 2010 and 2017 exposure drafts of government auditing standards.
The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has been actively engaged in the process of making improvements to the financial reporting model to provide more useful information to the users of the financial reports of governmental entities. The GASB proposed three recognition approaches to replace the current financial resources reporting model for governmental funds. The three approaches vary along a time dimension. The “near-term” model is the most similar to the current model with a specified reporting period of 60–90 days. A “short-term” model extends the transaction reporting to be the government's one-year operating cycle. Finally, a “long-term” model would report both current and noncurrent assets and liabilities for governmental funds. Data Availability: Details regarding the GASB project can be found on its website at: https://www.gasb.org/jsp/GASB/Document_C/GASBDocumentPage?cid=1176168729663&acceptedDisclaimer=true.
The objective of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board's (GASB) Revenue and Expense Recognition Project is to develop a comprehensive model for classification, recognition, and measurement of revenues and expenses for governmental entities. A conceptual framework would provide a basis for evaluating revenue and expense recognition, provide guidance regarding exchange and exchange-like transactions that have not been specifically addressed, and improve the consistency of financial reporting for decision making and the assessment of accountability. The GASB issued an Invitation to Comment (ITC No. 4-6I) in January 2018 to seek feedback regarding the classification and recognition of revenue and expense transactions, excluding the issue of measurement as it will be addressed in a subsequent phase of the project. The GASB proposed two models developed by a task force at an earlier stage in the project: an exchange/nonexchange model and a performance obligation/no performance obligation model. This commentary provides the response submitted to the GASB from the Accounting and Auditing Standards Committee of the Governmental and Nonprofit Accounting Section of the American Accounting Association. In addition, directions for future research are discussed. Data Availability: Details regarding the GASB project can be found on its website at: https://www.gasb.org/jsp/GASB/Document_C/DocumentPage?cid=1176169978401&acceptedDisclaimer=true
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