ICMA is teaming up with Northern Illinois University (NIU) and NIU’s Center for Governmental Studies (CGS) to gather input from city and county managers and administrators on their perspectives of the Governmental Accounting Standards Board (GASB) financial reporting requirements. This is a unique opportunity to offer an opinion on the costs and benefits associated with financial reporting. The findings will be made available by ICMA in a white paper that will be published in the fall 2013.  All responses will remain confidential and responses will be reported in an aggregated manner in order to not identify individuals.

This research team is particularly interested in answering the following questions:

1. To what extent are managers/administrators utilizing information in their audit reports to inform and affect policy decisions.
2. The implications of adopting, or not adopting, GASB suggestions for bond ratings and borrowing costs.
3. The effects of the inclusion of OPEB and (soon to be) pension liabilities in audit reports on decision-making and borrowing costs.
4. The additional costs (financial and time spent preparing requisite information) associated with financial reporting.
5. The effectiveness of outreach efforts to local governments and recommendations for improving financial reporting support for managers and administrators of local governments.

The quality of the report is dependent on your input. It will take approximately 15 minutes to complete the on-line survey; please respond by June 21.

If you have any questions or comments about this survey, contact Shannon Sohl at ssohl@niu.edu or Craig Maher at csmaher@niu.edu. A printable version of this survey can be made available upon request by contacting either Sohl or Maher at their e-mail addresses listed above.