Accounting Terminology 101

Accrual Accounting: A method of accounting where revenues and expenses are recognized when earned or incurred, regardless of when cash is received or paid. (TIA's recommendation)

Cash Basis Accounting: A method of accounting where revenues and expenses are recognized only when cash is received or paid, disregarding when the transactions occurred. (Not recommended for government budgets, but widely utilized.)

GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles): The standard framework of guidelines for financial accounting used in the United States, providing a common set of rules and procedures for preparing financial statements.

Double-Entry Accounting: A system of recording financial transactions where every transaction affects at least two accounts, with one account debited and another credited, ensuring that the accounting equation (Assets = Liabilities + Equity) remains balanced. (Recommended by TIA & Professor Jacob Soll, author of The Reckoning: Financial Accountability and the Rise and Fall of Nations)

Podcast Recommendations

In case you missed our conversation with former Comptroller General David M. Walker, it's now on our new podcast. Set against the backdrop of Truth in Accounting's 2024 Financial State of the Union report, this educational conversation aims to examine the fiscal condition of our Federal government with our distinguished guest, David M. Walker, former Comptroller General of the United States and CEO of the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) for almost ten years.

Americans deserve the truth about the financial state of our federal government. Currently, elected officials and voters make decisions using incorrect information.

Proud of Ripping Off Taxpayers

David is joined this week by Danielle DiMartino Booth, one of his favorite Fed critics, and now his new favorite critic of those who steal from taxpayers.

Ep 87: Dr. Cliff Winston — Deregulate Lawyers, Deregulate Airlines, and Let Markets Correct Themselves.

Are government programs and interventions superior to market corrections? According to Dr. Cliff Winston, the evidence to support such a claim doesn’t exist. Many economists obsess over market failures but seldom point the microscope in the direction of government, despite its many failures. And worse, the bureaucracy doesn't hold itself accountable.

This week, we examine some of the flaws of modern economic theories with Dr. Winston, a microeconomist and Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, with a B.A. and Ph.D. in economics from UC Berkeley, and Masters from the London School of Economics.

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Mayoral Candidate Hired TIA for Analysis

In an effort to educate voters with the full financial condition of Longview Mayoral Candidate Temple Carpenter hired us to run our proprietary method. Read the full report here. If you need a custom analysis done on your city or county contact Judi at jwillard@truthinaccounting.org

State Transparency Scores Over the Years

To encourage the publication of transparent and accurate government financial information, Truth in Accounting created a Transparency Score for financial reporting. For 2022, the two states with the highest or best scores were New York and Wyoming with a score of 86. The two worst states were Illinois and Georgia, with scores of 42 and 46 respectively. The average score for all the states was 72.

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