About this course
What you’ll learn
Governments and private businesses operate in vastly different environments, so their accounting processes and reporting are substantially different. Online courses in The University of Georgia’s Governmental Accounting Series help you gain a foundational understanding of accounting in a governmental environment.
Learning objectives
Through eight lessons and a comprehensive practice exercise, this course elevates understanding in the basic accounting equation, the effect of certain transactions on the accounting equation, the relationship of the balance sheet and the operating statement at the fund level, and how to record financial transactions.
- Define important accounting basic terms,
- Demonstrate the recognition of revenues, expenditures and expenses, and how to record them into accounting systems.
- Compare GAAP and statutory accounting for encumbrances,
- Contrast the three common bases of accounting, the form and content of a governmental fund balance sheet, and two common types of measurement foci.
- Recognize fund balance categories and the differences between statements of position for each category of funds.
The purpose of this practice exercise is to demonstrate how certain accounting concepts and generally accepted accounting principles apply in a system for a small government. You apply the concepts learned in each lesson through the recording of accounting transactions. You select the accounts needed to record the transaction from the chart of accounts and decide whether to “debit” or “credit” the account, receiving instant notification if the transaction is properly recorded for each transaction.
Who should attend?
The ideal participants for this course are governmental employees who require knowledge of the accounting process. Whether you are coming from the private sector and need more governmental accounting knowledge or are already a CPA, this course is your professional cornerstone. If you belong to a state licensing board that require CPAs to maintain and improve their skills through continuing education courses, or just need to prepare for the CPA exam, this course will set you on the path to help you reach your professional goals in accounting.
Continuing Education Information
The University of Georgia will award 2.75 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) upon successful completion of Introductory Governmental Accounting, Part II.
23 Continuing Professional Education units (CPEs) hours are awarded upon successful completion of the course.
Upon successful completion of all three accounting courses, a Certificate of Program Completion from the University of Georgia is awarded to all enrollees who complete the three-course series in a three-year period, based on the enrollment date of Introductory Governmental Accounting Part I.
Field of Study: Accounting (Governmental)
Delivery Method: QAS Self Study
Advance Preparation: None
Program Level: Basic
Prerequisites: Introductory Governmental Accounting Part I
Requirements & policies
Fees & funding information
$599 (US Funds) — Residents of Georgia
$639 (US Funds) — Non-Residents of Georgia
$50 (US Funds) — One-Month Extension (Only one extension is granted per participant)
Prepayment is required to be registered. Prices listed are per person. Prices are subject to change.
Cancellation or refund
If you have not accessed the online course at all, you may request a refund minus a $50 cancellation fee. Requests must be sent to gc-student@uga.edu no later than seven (7) days after the issuance of your course access information.
Certification
This course meets a Level I core course requirement in the Local Finance Officer Certification Program for local government personnel in the State of Georgia.
Local Georgia government employees receive a certificate as outlined in the Local Government Finance Officer Certification Program.
Prerequisites
You must successfully complete Introductory Governmental Accounting – Part I (Opens in a new window) prior to enrolling in Part II and you must successfully complete Introductory Governmental Accounting – Part II prior to enrolling in Intermediate Governmental Accounting (Opens in a new window).
Textbooks
A link to the Participant Manual (pdf format) is provided in the course. Everything you need is built within the online course platform.
Organizations
Supporting associations
This course is approved by the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy
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