Puzzling Pieces: Component Unit Identification, Classification, Disclosure, and Display

Although the basic shape of the financial reporting entity for state and local governments has been around for nearly 30 years, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) has made many incremental changes over time. Most recently, GASB Statements No. 84, Fiduciary Activities, No. 90, Majority Equity Interests, and No. 97, Certain Component Unit Criteria, and Accounting and Financial Reporting for Internal Revenue Code Section 457 Deferred Compensation Plans have introduced such changes. So, it is not terribly surprising that governments sometimes struggle to determine which entities should be included in a set of basic financial statements prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP), how they should be reported, and how both determinations should be explained.

• Publication date: April 2022
• Author: Michele Mark Levine