GASB issues statement 54 on fund balance reporting and governmental fund type definitions.

To enhance the usefulness of information provided to financial report users about fund balance and to clarify the definitions of existing governmental fund types, the Governmental Accounting Standards Board has issued Statement No. 54, Fund Balance Reporting and Governmental Fund Type Definitions.

The GASB's research on this project indicated that "fund balance" reported in the governmental fund financial statements is among the most widely and frequently used information in state and local government financial reports. However, the research also found diversity of practice in applying current guidance, and as a result a lack of consistency had evolved in fund balance reporting, specifically in the classifications of fund balances as reserved, unreserved, designated and undesignated.

Among other...