White Paper on GASB Statement 61, The Financial Reporting Entity: Omnibus
Posted January 31, 2014 in TARC updates
GASB Statement 61, The Financial Reporting Entity: Omnibus
IGFOA – Technical Accounting Review Committee (TARC) White Paper
January 2014
General Overview of the Statements
Most state and local governments in Illinois are required to have an annual audit of the financial
statements of the government and to file the audited financial statements with certain regulatory
bodies (e.g., state comptroller’s office, state board of education). Questions often arise as to
what departments, operations, activities, funds and/or separate units or organizations must be
included in a set of audited financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting
principles generally accepted in the United States. This is commonly known as “defining the
financial reporting entity”. How to define the reporting entity and therefore, define what should
be included in a set of financial statements, has long been a focus of the standard setting process.
Many pronouncements have been issued over the last thirty years to define the financial
reporting entity and to determine how to report component units.