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Government Accounting Standards Correspondence

Letters from the California Department of Education (CDE) to the field regarding Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) Statements 68, 54, 45, and 34.

New Financial Reporting Requirements for Pensions (Dated 02-Jul-2015)
Letter to county and district chief business officials and charter school administrators regarding Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement 68. The guidance in this letter supersedes the guidance in Management Advisory 96-03 from 1996 relating to accounting for on-behalf pension payments made by the state.

Attachment 02-Jul-2015: STRS On-Behalf Analysis Spreadsheet Application (EXE; 124 MB; Revised 09-Feb-2017) Spreadsheet application to calculate and create the journal entry necessary for local educational agencies to recognize the state’s on-behalf contribution to California State Teachers’ Retirement System (CalSTRS) in their funds. Use of this application is optional. Download Instructions: Using the preceding link, a self-extracting zipped file named "strsonbehalf.exe" must be downloaded and saved to your "C:" drive. Once done, using your Windows Explorer, double click on the "strsonbehalf.exe" file on your "C:" drive. The file will unzip and put the state teacher retirement system (STRS) on-behalf analysis spreadsheet application in excel format (XLSM), into a default folder named C:\GASB68STRSOnBehalf.

CDE Letter of January 07, 2011: New Requirements for Reporting Fund Balance in Governmental Fund (DOC; Dated 07-Jan-2011)
This letter discusses key provisions of Governmental Accounting Standards Board Statement 54, identifies implementation issues for local educational agencies (LEAs), and provides guidance on accounting for the new fund balance classifications in the standardized account code structure (SACS).

Attachment A 07-Jan-2011
Crosswalk of Previous Fund Balance Classifications to New Classifications.

Attachment B 07-Jan-2011
Ending Fund Balance Definitions.

Attachment C 07-Jan-2011 (XLS)
Component of Ending Fund Balance Before and After.

Attachment D 07-Jan-2011
Sample Language for Required Note Disclosure on Minimum Fund Balance Policy.

CDE Letter of February 26, 2007: New Financial Reporting Requirements for Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions (OPEB) (DOC; Dated 26-Feb-2007)
Key provisions of GASB 45 and GASB 43 plus implications for administration of state and federal categorical programs and changes to accounting for OPEB in the standardized account code structure.

Attachment A | DOC (Dated 26-Feb-2007)
Definitions of Key Terms.

Attachment B (DOC; Dated 26-Feb-2007)
Illustrations of Accounting for Postemployment Benefits Other Than Pensions.

Attachment C | DOC (Dated 26-Feb-2007)
Calculation of Annual OPEB Cost.

Attachment D | DOC (Dated 26-Feb-2007)
Attributing OPEB Contributions to The Components of the Annual Required Contribution (ARC).

CDE Letter of June 16, 2000: GASB 34 Implementation Issues
Discussion of GASB 34's benefits, implementation schedule, and implementation issues including capitalization threshold, capital asset inventory, and depreciation.

CDE Letter of November 15, 1999: New Financial Reporting Requirements
Overview of GASB 34 and its implications for LEAs.

Questions:   Financial Accountability & Information Services | sacsinfo@cde.ca.gov | 916-322-1770
Last Reviewed: Monday, December 18, 2023
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