Copley’s Essentials of Accounting for Governmental and Not-for-Profit Organizations, 10e is best suited for those professors whose objective is to provide more concise coverage than what is available in larger texts. The main focus of this text is on the preparation of external financial statements which is a challenge among governmental reporting. The approach in this edition is similar to that used in practice. Specifically, day to day events are recorded at the fund level using the basis of accounting for fund financial statements. Governmental activities are recorded using the modified accrual basis. The fund-basis statements are then used as input in the preparation of government-wide statements.

The preparation of government-wide statements is presented in an Excel worksheet. This approach has two advantages: (1) it is the approach most commonly applied in practice, and (2) it is an approach familiar to students who have studied the process of consolidation in their advanced accounting classes. State and local government reporting is illustrated using an ongoing example integrated throughout Chapters 3 through 8 and 13.

This edition incorporates all of the FASB, GASB, GAO and AICPA pronouncements passed since the last edition.