Despite the critical role state, local, and federal governments play in managing trillions of taxpayer dollars, most accounting students graduate without ever learning how public finances are actually reported.

While private companies follow accounting rules set by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), governments operate under entirely different frameworks—GASB (Governmental Accounting Standards Board) for state and local governments, and FASAB (Federal Accounting Standards Advisory Board) for federal agencies. These rules govern everything from pension reporting to how a “balanced budget” is defined. And yet, in most college and university accounting programs, they’re barely mentioned.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO), in a post August 22, declared that as of August 19, increases in tariffs implemented during the period from January 6, 2025, to August 19 will decrease primary deficits (which exclude net outlays for interest) by $3.3 trillion if the higher tariffs persist for the 2025‒2035 period. By reducing the need for federal borrowing, those tariff collections will also reduce federal outlays for interest by an additional $0.7 trillion. As a result, the changes in tariffs will reduce total deficits by $4.0 trillion altogether.