GASB Seeks Comments on SEA Exposure Draft

GASB Seeks Comments on SEA Exposure Draft

Many of you have seen Jay Fountain or Paul Epstein present on the really good work GASB (the Governmental Accounting Standards Board) has done on creating suggestions for more effective performance reporting. You can see their work here -- I particularly recommend Government Service Efforts and Accomplishments Performance Reports: A Guide to Understanding, which needs a better title but it's still a useful resource.

Anyway, GASB is looking for comments on revisions to one of their reports, so I thought I'd pass on the information and the links. The good news is that the part about seeking citizen input in identifying government performance measures is still in there, and (if I read it correctly) has been moved closer to the front.

Here's the announcement:

The Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) recently released an Exposure Draft on concepts related to Service Efforts and Accomplishments Reporting, an amendment of GASB Concepts Statement No. 2. GASB is seeking comments to its exposure draft by July 3, 2008. Written comments should be addressed to: Director of Research and Technical Activities Project 20-1.

The document is available for download from the GASB website. In addition, GASB will hold a public hearing on July 29, during AGA's Professional Development Conference & Exposition in Atlanta.

GASB proposes to modify four sections of Concepts Statement No. 2 and eliminate one section, Developing Reporting Standards for SEA Information. GASB is also developing principles-based suggested guidelines for voluntary reporting of SEA performance information.

(Hat tip: AGA's Perspectives on Performance www.agacgfm.org/publications/html/pop062508.aspx)