The Governmental Accounting Standards Board has posted a new video series to help elected officials and other stakeholders understand the information included in government financial reports and how they can use it.
The videos can be streamed or downloaded via the GASB website.
“This series of short videos is geared toward elected officials to help them understand in straightforward, layman’s terms the information in each section of a government financial report, as well as how they might use that information,” GASB Chair Joel Black said in a statement on March 3. “We are excited to release these videos and know our stakeholders will benefit from them.”
The collection includes 16 videos, each ranging from five to 10 minutes in length. It includes a three-part introduction to financial reporting, followed by 13 videos that each address key areas of the annual comprehensive financial report.
Key areas include each of the four sets of financial statements included in the ACFR, Management’s Discussion and Analysis, and accounting and financial reporting topics likely to be of interest to viewers, such as pensions, capital assets, and budgetary comparison schedules.
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The videos, which were created using a whiteboard approach, are designed to be viewed in their entirety as a comprehensive series for viewers who want to understand the majority of the financial report, or individually if a viewer only wants to focus on a particular part of the financial report, the GASB said.
In the past, the GASB has offered guides for elected officials and other financial statement users in printed or PDF format that cover similar information through its website.
“This new video series provides a modern, engaging alternative to the earlier guides,” the GASB added.
More information can be found here.
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