Private and Public Accounting

Paper Summary:

The paper examines the three major governmental levels that follow different accounting standards. These standards are worked out and monitored carefully by private organizations. The paper explores how the Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board (FASAB) works out standards for the federal government, while the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and the Federal Accounting Standards Board (FASB) deliver standards for state and local governmental bodies respectively. The paper discusses how these accounting standards, at these three levels, differ significantly with those used by the private sector enterprises.

From the Paper:

"The fact that shareholders of the company based on the cash flow the management has managed to generate, can any time withdraw the funds or fire the management, is a good controlling tool for the private sector while there is no such a clear controlling tool for governmental bodies. The funds inflow and outflow systems within the public and private sector companies vary: where in public sector beneficiaries do not pay for a piece of product or services they receive and government does not have to be reimbursed with interest for the money it grants to a public organization, in the private sector shareholders demand returns and pay back on cash they invest and clients pay price for each unit of goods they receive."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Sunder, S. A Theory of Accounting and Controls for Organizations Producing
• Basic Governmental Accounting Principles, available from: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/arm/arm2.htm
• Besselman, Joseph J., Ashish Arora, and Patrick Larkey, "Buying in a Businesslike Fashion: And Paying More?" Carnegie Mellon University Working Paper, January 1999.Public- Versus Private-Goods, School of Management, Yale University.
• www.wikipedia.org
• www.fasab.org

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