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.
