...TO: TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN FROM: SUBJECT: CITY OF DENVER CO, CAFR, ANALYSIS OF MD&A DATE: The following memo highlights 4 interesting aspects of the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report of the City of Seattle Washington for Calendar Year January 1st – December 31st 2009. The complete report can be found following this link: http://www.seattle.gov/cafrs/2009/default.htm 1. On page #2 (and on the relevant statements on pages 10 and 11) of the Management’s Discussion and Analysis, it is noted that the fund financial statements are broken down by governmental funds, proprietary funds, and fiduciary funds. The governmental funds are broken down into general, special revenue, debt service, capital projects and permanent funds. It is interesting to note that the city of Seattle has identified 3 major governmental funds that are presented separately in the governmental funds balance sheet and statement of revenues, expenditures, and other changes in fund balances. The major funds are the General Fund, Transportation Fund, and Low-Income Housing Fund. The general fund should always be reported as a major fund. Other individual funds should be reported as major funds if, 1) total assets, liabilities, revenues, expenditures of that fund are at least 10% of the corresponding total for all funds of that category and 2) total assets, liabilities, revenues, expenditures of that fund are at least 5% of the corresponding total for all governmental and enterprise funds combined. For...
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...CAFR BUDGET ANALYSIS 2 CAFR Budget Analysis The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) serve similar functions for different accounting entities. The GASB maintains accountability over state and local governments, while the FASB maintains adherence to standards for not-for-profit entities. Both governments and not-for-profit organizations use an expenditure approach to accounting where budgetary needs are the first priority over financial statements. Governments however, have additional reporting items that fall within the purview of the power to summon resources. Governments and not-for-profit entities have a different business model than that of for-profit organizations, because governments and not-for-profit entities primary business goal is something other than profit. Governments differentiate themselves from not-for-profit entities by the ability to use taxes, licenses, and legislature as a means to levy revenue to pay for expenses. Not-for-profit organizations primarily use grants, investments, and contracts to earn revenue (Copley & Engstrom, 2007). Modified Accrual Method Since governments and not-for-profit organizations use a different business model than traditional businesses, a modified accrual method is used to account for assets, liabilities, and capital. The GASB and FASB allow for the creation of individual accounting entities called funds that track the funding and expenses for that entity. Each...
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...Denver, Colorado Governmental Accounting 407 Denver, Colorado Denver was founded by William H. Larimer, Jr. on November 22, 1858 and named for James W. Denver. It is the largest city and second largest county in the state of Colorado, and it is also the capitol. “The mile-high city” is the nickname for Denver, Colorado because its official elevation is exactly one mile above sea level benchmarked from the steps of the State Capitol Building. The climate in Denver is very sunny averaging around 300 days of sunshine a year, but because of its proximity to the Rocky Mountains, it is subject to sudden weather changes. Snowfall is common in late fall, winter, and spring which make Colorado a popular ski destination. Denver has many outdoor activities, sports venues, and museums so there is always something to keep you entertained. In the metropolitan area, Denver has Sports Authority Field (Broncos), Coors Field (Rockies), Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (Rapids), and the Pepsi Center (Nuggets and Avalanche). Denver is very bicycle friendly, and one of the most walkable metropolitan areas in the nation. The economy in Denver is partially reliant on its connection to major transportation systems because of its geographic location. Denver is located between large western cities such as Los Angeles and San Diego and large Midwestern cities such as Chicago and St. Louis. Denver’s proximity to the Rocky Mountains makes it ideal for mining and energy companies. Denver resides in...
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...City Of San Jose CaFr & Budget Analysis Teja Gadde City of San Jose- Introduction: The city of San Jose, CA, is the self proclaimed capital of the Silicon Valley. Initially, it was the first civilian settlement in California in 1777 and was also the 1st state capital of California. Today, San Jose is the third largest city in California, following only Los Angeles and San Diego. It has an estimated population of over 950,000 people. San Jose has a very diverse population; 33.2% Hispanic, 28.7% White and 31.7% Asian. It is the home to the largest concentration of technology firms worldwide- over 6,500 technology companies are located in San Jose and surrounding areas. San Jose has large private employers such as Cisco Systems, Xilinx, IBM and EBay. San Jose is known to be the hub for technological innovation. However, San Jose was not immune to the effects of recession. The slight increases in San Jose's primary revenues was not enough to cover its expenditures, even though expenditures decreased from the previous year. San Jose provides many governmental activities services such as public transportation, libraries, parks, recreation and neighborhood services. San Jose also provides business-type activities such as the airport, wastewater treatment system, water system and parking management operation. At Fiscal year Ending June 30, 2011, San Jose had Total Net Assets of $5.648 billion, which is a decrease of $382 million from the previous period. This paper will...
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...CAFR Budget Analysis CAFR Budget Analysis At a government’s year-end, a Comprehensive Annual Financial Report (CAFR) must be completed. A CAFR consists of three parts: introduction, financial, and statistical sections and is a very detailed report of the government’s financial condition and reports on the states’ activities and funds for the past year. The state of California completed and published its CAFR for year-ending June 30, 2013 in April 2014. From this CAFR, we were able to glean a significant amount of information in regards to the state’s population, governmental structure, size of the state’s budget, how the budget interrelates to the CAFR, major industries, and other pertinent demographic information. Population In order to interpret a government’s CAFR, the reader must have knowledge about the jurisdiction the issuing government serves. Part of understanding the jurisdiction is to have knowledge about the jurisdiction’s population. For this reason, a CAFR must present basic information about population. With more than 37 million residents, the state of California is the most populous state in the United States (US) (as of Census 2010). California’s population has grown steadily at a rate of just under 1% per year since 2005. This trend is similar to that of the US overall, albeit a bit slower (Chiang, n.d.). Residents of California consistently have higher per capita income as compared to the US overall with $46,477 yearly income for...
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...COUNTY OF VENTURA CAFR ANALYSIS PA615 – Public Financial Management Instructor, All Holliman California State University, San Bernardino Carrie Harmon, Scott Perkins, Dana Cano, Veronica Pinkett-Veal, Lydia Khalil, Holly Benton June 10, 2010 Contents Executive Summary 2 Cover, Table of Contents and Formatting 3 Introduction 3 Independent Auditor’s Report 5 Management’s Discussion and Analysis 6 Basic Financial Statements 6 Government-wide Financial Statements 7 Fund Financial Statements 8 Government, Proprietary, and Fiduciary Funds – Financial Statements 10 Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (SSAP) 14 Note Disclosure (other than SSAP and pension-related disclores) 19 Required Supplementary Information (RSI) 19 Combining and Individual Fund Information and Other Supplementary Information 21 Statistical Section 22 Other Considerations 23 Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the County of Ventura’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report otherwise known as the CAFR. This analysis afforded the group members an opportunity to apply concepts and theories acquired through a graduate level governmental accounting course and provided the group members with a more intimate view of local government finances. The County of Ventura was selected for three primary reasons: 1) the county is located in Southern California and can easily be compared to the County of Riverside; 2) Ventura County...
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...Abstract The City of Troy’s Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for 2011 is analyzed. It is content the evaluation of efficiency and effectiveness of the CAFR, comparison of the current year result and performance with the prior result and performance, assess of financial condition, assess of financial operations, compliance with the budget, and overview of Management Discussion and Analysis. Also discussed in this analysis, the auditor’s comments and recommendation about independence, scope, and opinion; and also my recommendation. At the end of this analysis, included the City of Troy’s last 2 year’s performance analysis. Evaluation of Efficiency and Effectiveness At the end of 2011, The City of Troy had $330.4 million invested in a broad range of capital assets including land. Building, police and fire equipment, water and sewer lines, roads, sidewalks, and other infrastructure, net of debt. The increase in capital assets during the year was attributing to the excess of additional in streets, drains and water/sewer systems over the recognition of depreciation. The City of Tory’s debt rating is excellent. The City maintains a AAA rating on unlimited tax general obligation bonds by Standard and Poor’s. The City of Troy’s bond indebtedness totaled $42.8 million at June 30, 2011 a decrease of $4.4 million from the prior year resulting from debt retirement payments. The General Fund receives all City of Troy revenues not designated for special uses by statutes or the City...
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...QA Concept Introducing LoadRunner • Why should you automate performance testing? • What are the LoadRunner components? • Understanding LoadRunner Terminology • What is the load testing process? • Getting Familiar with HP Web Tours • Application Requirements The Power of LoadRunner • Creating the Load Test • Running the Load Test • Monitoring the Load Test • Analyzing Results Building Scripts • Introducing the Virtual User Generator (VuGen) • How do I start recording user activities? • Using VuGen’s Wizard mode • How do I record a business process to create a script? • How do I view the script? Playing Back Your Script • How do I set the run-time behavior? • How do I watch my script running in real time? • Where can I view information about the replay? • How do I know if my test passed? • How do I search or filter the results? Solving Common Playback Problems • Preparing HP Web tours for playback errors • How do I work with unique server values? Preparing a Script for Load Testing • How do I measure business processes? • How do I emulate multiple users? • How do I verify Web page content? • How can I produce debugging information? • Did my test succeed? Creating a Load Testing Scenario • Introducing the LoadRunner Controller • How do I start the Controller? • The Controller window at a glance • How do I modify the script details? • How do I generate a heavy load? • How do I emulate real load...
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...Preparing Business Scenario Analyses The following general guidelines may be used in preparing for an oral or written business scenario analysis and presentation. There may be several feasible courses of action regarding the solution to any case. It is more important to concern yourself with the process of problem definition and isolation, analysis, and evaluation of alternatives, and the choice of one or more recommendations, rather than trying to find a single answer. Very often, the right answer is the one that you can propose, explain, defend, and make work. • The Process of Analyzing a Case 1. Read and study the scenario thoroughly and efficiently. Read the scenario once for familiarity, noting issues that come to the forefront. Read the scenario again. Determine all the facts, making notes about symptoms of problems, root problems, unresolved issues, and roles of key players. Watch for issues beneath the surface. 2. Isolate the problem(s). Get a feel for the overall environment by putting yourself in the position of one of the key players. Seek out the pertinent issues and problems. 3. Analyze and evaluate alternatives. a. Once the problems and issues are isolated, work at gaining a better understanding of causes. In what area of the unit do the problems exist? Why? What caused them? Examine and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the unit’s processes (e.g., planning, communication), human behaviors, and/or exhibits (e.g., financial statements,...
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...PEST Analysis One way of planning your business is to undertake a PEST analysis.1 PEST analysis involves looking at the Political, Economic, Socio-cultural and Technological factors that could affect your business. Every business needs to consider a range of external forces in order to take decisions. For many people imagination is very limited and is coloured solely by their own experience and personal beliefs. This can lead to wish fulfilment or a refusal to see reality or recognise the critical changes that are happening in the world around them. It can also lead to grabbing short-term solutions that, if they do not exacerbate problems, certainly ignore the longer term. In the business world pressure is often applied to take decisions quickly, acting on judgement and instinct rather than careful analysis. There are many driving forces in the external environment that might impact on your business. These can be categorised as: • Social; • Technological; • Economic; • Environmental; and • Political. Social forces Social forces include, for example, changing demography and education, etc. The population in Western Europe is relatively static, but the age bands are changing. The number of older people, for example, is growing rapidly. Technological forces Technological forces are changing dramatically quickly. What effects will this have on your production, marketing and distribution plans? Depending on your market, technology might either raise or lower entry barriers...
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...Fall 2015: Industry Analysis in Emerging Markets Your role in this analysis is to work with your team and to look at emerging technologies. From autonomous drones to emergent AI to 3D printers, you are going to research and get a better understanding of our fast-approaching technological future. Scientific American compiled the Top 10 List of Emerging Technologies for 2015. You can start here, but you are not limited to these technologies. You must choose an emerging industry, and will analyze the history of this technology and its industry, the trajectories of the technology, the key competitors, and the trends in the market. The end goal is to develop a comprehensive understanding of the industry, the competitive landscape, emerging trends to watch in the future, and an overall assessment as to the attractiveness of this industry. Your final deliverable for this project will be an in-class presentation, due April 26th. 1) What SIC/NAICS code does your industry fall under? 2) Describe your industry- a. Provide a brief history of your industry. (You may use a timeline in a separate appendix) b. List and describe the characteristics of the products your industry offers in the marketplace. c. Who are the key competitors in the industry? d. What are the main differences between the products offered by key competitors? e. What strengths & weaknesses (capabilities, complementary resources, related intellectual property, etc.)...
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...http://www.mysensex.comPESTLE « Pestle Summary: India | Main | Pestle summary: USA » 03/28/2009 Pestle Summary China Well, I guess this is where I get controversial, at least a bit. There are others who have predicted that China was in for a tough ride over the past few years, but they mostly got ignored, or were proven wrong by events. And, to a certain extent, if you cry doom long enough you'll always get proved right, given the laws of entropy. So this is a bit 'faux' controversy... This is the introductory note taking exercise for a Pestle analysis of China, drawn on conventional internet sources such as Wikipedia, the CIA World Factbook and Nationmaster. China is the most populous country in the world, with 1.34 billion people. It has the third largest GDP, with $4.84 trillion, behind Japan and the U.S. Like India, the currency and conditions make it useful to look at some statistics using Purchasing Power Parity, which bumps up China's GDP to $7.8 trillion, which would move it ahead of Japan. It also is the second in the world in annual military spending, although that needs a bit of context, as the world's number two spends about 15% of what the world number one (USA) spends. But with PPP, that looks like more money, and insofar as it is used to pay salaries, rather than buy Israeli rocket parts, PPP is valid in this context too. China is badly governed by the Communist Party, and in my five-year Pestle forecast I will be making the case that misgovernance will...
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...McCauley, COO * Hugh McCauley, COO of Riordan has sent a service request to us. The service request SR-rm-022 stats that Riordan wants to make improvement on their current HR tools. They are currently using a variety of HR tools and would want’s us create one integrated application. To do this we will have to do a system analysis of their current system. An analysis will be made with recommendations to upgrade and consolidate their system. * The service request is basically a project statement. This is a document from the customer who clearly states what the project should deliver and outline the high-level work required for completing this project * (SR-rm-022). Riordan Manufacturing has 550 employees worldwide and has projected earnings of $46 million. It is a fortune 1000 enterprise with $1 billion in excess revenues. It is wholly owned by Riordon Industries and based in San Jose , California. * . We will use the joint application design (JAD) for our system analysis, this should help keep the analysis efforts to a minimum. Fact finding is at the core of system analysis. Interviewing of individuals who understand the current system and any known issues, including future activities needed. To do this observation of how data is handled and how this is used for their jobs. Through study of the documents, policies, and procedures in reference to the system. * Interviewing and gathering...
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...29th, 2013 Angela Lucente Planning For People Job analysis is an important process, any organization used to use it in order to collect information and data about required skills, level of education, work environment, responsibilities, and the duties to create a job description, recruiting plans, and performance development planning (Susan M. Heatfield, 2013). Once job analyses are updated as described, a summary of the results is normally prepared in writing in the form of a job description (Wayne F. Cascio, 2010). According to my reading chapter five about job analysis process. There are some topics I felt comfortable with, such as alternative perspectives on jobs. This topic add to my knowledge many information and explained how jobs are important to organizations, what is the highly unusual jobs that some organizations required it, and distinguish job analysis form job design (Wayne F. Cascio, 2010). On the other hand, I struggled with topic job requirements because there are many methods created in order to study job requirements and none of them alone is sufficient. Thus, it is essential to integrate this methods to obtain the results of the tasks and duties of a job (Wayne F. Cascio, 2010). It is not that easy to implement the methods of job analysis, such as job performance, observation, interview, critical incidents, and structured questionnaire, those are the most five common methods of job analysis and each one of those takes time and effort to achieve desirable...
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...------------------------------------------------- Running header: Job Analysis Methods ------------------------------------------------- Abstract Examination of different methods utilized to create a comprehensive job analysis, including advantages and disadvantages of all approaches. There are several methods that can be utilized to create a comprehensive job analysis. A job analysis provides a better understanding of the positions within an organization, which will allow the recruitment process to be more focused, consistent and thorough. The first method that can be employed to create an effective job analysis is the Critical Incidents Technique. This technique identifies circumstances that arise in a current position, what action was taken, and the consequences of the action, to identify the effective and ineffective behaviors in job performance. These critical situations are documented by interviewing former jobholders, supervisors, or by reviewing documents and logs from the job. Job duties are examined, and then critical incidents are identified to determine poor or good performance issues related to a specific job requirement. This technique is useful for covering job events that may not be covered in a general job description. Identifying atypical circumstances that may arise in a position can aid in finding a candidate that would be an ideal fit. Reviewing these critical incidents also enable the recruitment process to be shaped to include more pointed questions...
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