University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Governmental Accounting and Reporting I
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Governmental Accounting and Reporting I

Taught in English

Course

Gain insight into a topic and learn the fundamentals

Jenny Ulla

Instructor: Jenny Ulla

Intermediate level
Some related experience required
Approx. 28 hours to complete
3 weeks at 9 hours a week
Flexible schedule
Learn at your own pace

Details to know

Shareable certificate

Add to your LinkedIn profile

Recently updated!

November 2023

Assessments

94 quizzes

See how employees at top companies are mastering in-demand skills

Placeholder
Placeholder

Earn a career certificate

Add this credential to your LinkedIn profile, resume, or CV

Share it on social media and in your performance review

Placeholder

There are 8 modules in this course

Government and nonprofit accounting involve specialized reporting practices driven by their unique characteristics and intended purposes. Reporting standards set by authoritative bodies like GASB and FASB ensure transparency and accountability to meet the needs of diverse stakeholders, while fund accounting helps entities manage resources effectively and report financial information accurately.

What's included

13 videos6 readings10 quizzes1 discussion prompt1 plugin

Accurate and transparent financial reporting is the aim of governmental reporting. It ensures that financial information is presented in a way that meets the needs of various stakeholders while adhering to specific accounting standards and principles. In this module, we will begin to look at the foundational construction of government financial statements.

What's included

10 videos2 readings9 quizzes

In governmental accounting, the Statement of Net Position within Government-Wide Financial Statements serves as a critical snapshot of a government entity's financial health, categorized into Net Investment in Capital Assets, Restricted, and Unrestricted. Operating Revenues and Expenses in Government-Wide Statements of Activities delineate the revenues and expenses associated with core governmental activities, distinguishing between program and general revenue sources. Governmental Fund Financial Statements follow modified accrual accounting, comprising essential funds and featuring financial statements like the Balance Sheet, Statement of Revenues, Expenditures, and Changes in Fund Balances, and the Statement of Cash Flows. Transfers and Internal Balances facilitate resource allocation among funds, while Fund Balance classifies resources as Nonspendable, Restricted, Committed, Assigned, or Unassigned. Additionally, Revenues and Other Financing Sources, Expenditures, and Other Financing Uses clarify financial inflows and outflows in governmental funds, contributing to transparent financial management within government entities.

What's included

13 videos2 readings14 quizzes

In this module, we will get an overview of what the General Fund is and how to account for transactions under the General Fund. We will examine and analyze the General Fund's operating budget and transactions, preparing and analyzing journal entries for budgetary reporting and preparing fund-level journal entries. We will also account for transactions under the modified accrual basis of accounting for state and local governments, handling encumbrances within and from prior fiscal years and analyzing and recording operating transactions for governmental activities at both government-wide and fund levels.

What's included

11 videos2 readings11 quizzes

We will prepare required General Fund financial statements. They include the preparation of year-end General Fund financial statements, budget creation, and calculating ending fund balances. We will also learn how to account for property taxes under modified accrual basis. We will also learn about the key characteristics for the special revenue and permanent funds, with a focus on accurately accounting for their transactions and journal entries. Additionally, we will differentiate how to handle three grant types: purpose-restricted, time-restricted, and eligibility-restricted. Lastly, we’ll discuss how to account for transactions that take place internally versus externally and transactions that are reciprocal or nonreciprocal.

What's included

15 videos2 readings15 quizzes

In this module we will learn about our next two governmental funds: capital projects fund and the debt service fund. We will focus on how governmental entities account for General Capital Assets and General Long-Term Liabilities on the fund-level and the government-wide level. Additionally, we will prepare financial statements for the capital projects fund and the debt service fund. We will get into detail about characteristics of a serial and term bond. Additionally, we will explore new disclosures in the financial statements and define new terms such as debt margin and debt limit.

What's included

13 videos2 readings13 quizzes

We will introduce proprietary funds and their key characteristics. We will learn about how these two funds are reported on both the fund level and the Government-wide level. In this section, we will also cover the three net position classification and get practice on categorizing transactions into these three classifications of net position. Lastly, we will account for transactions for both proprietary funds and create financial statements.

What's included

13 videos2 readings14 quizzes

In this module, we will focus on the Statement of Cash Flow for proprietary funds. We will first differentiate between FASB and GASB Statement of Cash Flow requirements. Next, in order to understand how governmental entities account for cash flow transactions, we will classify what activities and transactions are inflows and outflows on the Statement of Cash Flow and we will prepare a Statement of Cash Flow. In addition to this, we will create a required piece of GASB’s Statement of Cash Flow, which is the Reconciliation of Operating Income to Net Cash Provided by Operating Activities for a Statement of Cash Flow.

What's included

8 videos4 readings8 quizzes1 plugin

Instructor

Jenny Ulla
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2 Courses412 learners

Offered by

Recommended if you're interested in Finance

Why people choose Coursera for their career

Felipe M.
Learner since 2018
"To be able to take courses at my own pace and rhythm has been an amazing experience. I can learn whenever it fits my schedule and mood."
Jennifer J.
Learner since 2020
"I directly applied the concepts and skills I learned from my courses to an exciting new project at work."
Larry W.
Learner since 2021
"When I need courses on topics that my university doesn't offer, Coursera is one of the best places to go."
Chaitanya A.
"Learning isn't just about being better at your job: it's so much more than that. Coursera allows me to learn without limits."

New to Finance? Start here.

Placeholder

Open new doors with Coursera Plus

Unlimited access to 7,000+ world-class courses, hands-on projects, and job-ready certificate programs - all included in your subscription

Advance your career with an online degree

Earn a degree from world-class universities - 100% online

Join over 3,400 global companies that choose Coursera for Business

Upskill your employees to excel in the digital economy

Frequently asked questions