GASB STATEMENT 34: THE ON-RAMP TO TRANSPORTATION ASSET MANAGEMENT OR A DETOUR LEADING TO BUSINESS AS USUAL?

The Government Accounting Standards Board's (GASB) Statement 34 changed the generally accepted accounting standards for state and local governments by requiring that agencies place the value of the assets they manage in their annual financial reports. GASB 34 allowed agencies to track the current value of an asset by using depreciation or a modified approach that focuses on the preservation (rather than depreciation) of assets. To determine the approach that local governments were taking to respond to GASB 34, financial managers from several large midwestern cities were interviewed. Findings showed that none of the cities interviewed chose to use the modified approach. Most city officials responded that they knew in advance that the value of the infrastructure was going to be large and now that they would have a more exact estimate of the value. However, most reported that this knowledge would change very little. Several cities did believe that the attention paid to infrastructure as a result of GASB 34 would or has helped them to implement systems to manage assets. However, most doubted that these systems would ever be used to support their financial reporting. These results indicate that the change in accounting standards will not have the desired effect of encouraging the adoption of asset management systems. Instead, asset management systems will have to be promoted on the basis that they represent good practice.

• Record URL:
  http://www.ctre.iastate.edu/pubs/midcon2003/MazeGASB.pdf
• 
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/0965231062
• Corporate Authors:

  Iowa State University, Ames

  Center for Transportation Research and Education
  2711 South Loop Drive, Suite 4700
  Ames, IA  United States  50010-8664
• Authors:
  • Maze, T H
  • Smadi, O
• Conference:
  • Mid-Continent Transportation Research Symposium
  • Location: Ames, Iowa
  • Date: 2003-8-21 to 2003-8-22
• Publication Date: 2003

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: References;
• Pagination: 8p
• Monograph Title: MID-CONTINENT TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH SYMPOSIUM (AMES, IOWA, AUGUST 21-22, 2003). PROCEEDINGS

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accounting; Asset management; Assets; Business practices; Depreciation; Financial analysis; Infrastructure; Standards; Surveys; Valuation
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Finance; Highways; I10: Economics and Administration;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00963344
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 0965231062
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 18 2003 12:00AM