APPENDIX Case Study Expectations
I. Introduction (1 page)
In this case, you will assess the financial condition of a city government. You will examine the (1) Budget and (2) Financial Reports (CAFR) of a large U.S. city of your choice. The city must have at least 100,000 population. The city must have a recent Budget and CAFR available online because you will need to download and use both documents for this research. Interpreting financial reports is one of the most important skills for a public manager. Your report should be organized into two major sections. In the first section, you will present the social, economic, and fiscal characteristics of your city. In the second section, you will develop the financial analysis of your city.
II. Social, Political and Economic Characteristics (about five pages)
Using the most recent Budget and the CAFR, identify the main functions of your city. Describe the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of your city. Next, describe the main programs and services provided by your city. What are the main operating programs of the city (e.g., police, fire)? What are the largest capital spending programs (e.g., highways, sewage)? What are the major sources of revenue for the city and why? Discuss how diversified or constrained are the revenues of the city. Does the city rely on one major tax or does it rely on multiple sources of revenue? What advantages or disadvantages do you see in this city’s dependence on those revenues? Lastly, how could this city save money, e.g., in the event of a revenue shortfall? Support your analyses by presenting major amounts from the budget. At a minimum, questions to examine include:
· What are the largest spending programs of your city?
· What sources of revenues support those expenditures? Calculate the percentage of own-source revenue out of total revenues.
· How many functions (or services) does the city provide? E.g., public works, safety, utilities, parks, etc. Calculate the percentage of expenditure allocated to each of those functions out of total expenditures.
III. Financial Analysis (about five pages)
Using the most recent Financial Report (CAFR) (and its supplementary information), analyze the financial condition of the city. Assess the liquidity and solvency of the city. Does the city have enough cash and short-term assets to meet short-term obligations? Assess the financial condition and solvency of the city. Does the municipality have a strong ability to serve long-run obligations? Using the Notes, identify significant accounting policies that potentially affect the reliability of the financial reports. Are you concerned about the credibility of the financial report based on your reading of the Notes?
IV. Conclusion and Recommendations (1 page)
In this concluding section, briefly summarize your findings concerning the financial condition as well as the service priorities of the city for the upcoming year. May suggest policy priorities or good practices for future years based on your research. May suggest what the city can do to strengthen its long-run financial condition.
Appendices: Place references, graphs, or tables in appendices (not within the text)
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